New Zealand's December trade deficit lower than expected

New Zealand’s December trade deficit lower than expected

According to the provisional data released by the Statistics New Zealand (SNZ), New Zealand's trade deficit amounted to NZD 493 million (approx. $350 million) in December. Economists said the deficit was lower than expected as exports were higher than anticipated. Imports reached NZD 3.05 billion with a rise of 8.6% in December while exports were recorded as NZD 2.56 billion, up 11.4%. For the whole of 2004, trade deficit was recorded as NZD 4.17 billion. The rise in December imports is attributed to the higher shipments of petroleum, crude oil, mechanical machinery, plastics, tractors and trucks and iron and steel products.