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Merchandise terms of trade in the third quarter climbed to the highest in 33 years as export prices rose and imports fell.
The merchandise terms of trade index in the three months ending September increased 3.6 per cent from the June quarter to the highest level since the March 1974 quarter, Statistics New Zealand announced today. Terms of trade measures the volume of imports that can be bought from every dollar of exports.
The price of dairy products such as milk and cheese bolstered export prices 3.3 per cent from the June quarter, while electrical machinery and apparatus and mechanical machinery contributed to a 0.3 per cent fall in import prices , the government agency said.
Seasonally adjusted export volumes dropped 1 per cent - the first quarterly fall in three - because of a slump in whole milk powder. Seasonally adjusted merchandise import volumes recorded its fifth consecutive quarterly gain, up 0.3 per cent thanks to a gain in consumption goods.
