Dairy exports drove New Zealand's surplus on goods and services to a record in the fourth quarter, helping offset an outflow of profits from foreign-owned companies and shrinking the nation's current account deficit.
The current account gap fell to $1.43 billion in the fourth quarter, from a revised deficit of $4.88 billion in the third quarter, according to Statistics New Zealand. The annual gap fell to $7.55 billion, or 3.4 per cent of gross domestic product, from $8.87 billion, or 4.1 per cent.
Economists polled by Reuters had expected a quarterly deficit of $1.41 billion for an annual gap of $7.41 billion.
The kiwi dollar last traded at 86.21 US cents, little changed from immediately before the figures were released. The trade-weighted index was at 80.27 from 80.30.
The seasonally adjusted balance on goods and services turned to a surplus of $1.8 billion, the highest since the series began in 1987 and a $1.9 billion turnaround from the September quarter deficit. That was driven by a $1.4 billion increase in exports of goods, led by dairy products, the government statistician said.
