June trade deficit balloons on plane imports

New Zealand posted a $417 million trade deficit in June, as imports were boosted by the one-off import of several large aircraft valued at $571 million.

Imports for the month were valued at $3.6 billion, down $192m or 5.1 per cent from June 2008, Statistics New Zealand (SNZ) said today.

Excluding the one-off aircraft, imports would have been $3b, down 20 per cent on a year earlier, and the trade balance would have been a surplus of $154m or 4.8 per cent of exports.

Exports last month were valued at $3.2b, down $395m or 11 per cent from June 2008. The deficit for the month was equal to 13.1 per cent of exports.

The decrease when compared to the same month of the previous year was the largest for exports since July 2007, SNZ said.

In June 2008 exports had been lifted by several factors, including high production from the Tui oilfield, high international oil prices and higher dairy prices.

For the year to June, the country recorded a trade deficit of $3.18b.

Today's figures caught economists by surprise, with the median forecasts in a Reuters poll having been for a June surplus of $265m, with imports of $3.19b and exports of $3.47b, while the annual deficit had been estimated at $2.56b.

- NZPA