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Terms of trade hit 37-year high

The terms of trade continue to rise, although the rate of rise is slowing.

Rob Hosking
Wed, 01 Jun 2011

The terms of trade continue to rise, hitting a 37-year high for the March quarter - but the rate of rise is slowing.

The index rose 0.9%, meaning the run of increases continues, but the increase was below the consensus forecast of a 2.2% increase.

The annual figure is an increase of 6.8%.

These figures are for the March quarter and pre-date Monday’s announcement of a record monthly trade balance for April.

Today’s figures show export prices rose 6.3%, led by dairy, meat, and petroleum exports, but the volume of exports actually fell slightly, by 0.3%.

Import prices rose 5.4%, driven by petroleum, and food and beverage imports. On a volume basis, iports rose 5.1%

Rob Hosking
Wed, 01 Jun 2011