KEY POINTS:
New Zealand's monthly trade deficit was a smaller-than-expected $127 million in February, with the figure for the year to last month $5.78 billion.
The median forecast of economists polled by Reuters had been for a monthly deficit of $297 million, and an annual deficit of $5.95 billion.
The monthly trade deficit was equivalent to 4.5 per cent of exports, and was about a third the size of the February 2006 deficit, the largest on record for a February month.
The figure for the February year was the lowest annual deficit since September 2005.
It compared with $6 billion for the January year and $7.3 billion for the previous February year.
Features of the data released today by Statistics New Zealand (SNZ) were a large rise in exports of food and live animals, while large decreases were recorded in imports of mineral fuels and aircraft.
The value of merchandise exports for the month, compared to February 2006, rose $251 million, or 9.7 per cent, to $2.8 billion.
The value of imports rose just $4 million, or 0.1 per cent, to $3 billion.
SNZ said the rise in exports was the largest for a February month since 2001.
A $142m (31 per cent) increase in the milk powder, butter and cheese category was the largest contributor to the export increase. Whole milk powder accounted for the largest increase in the category, up $69 million.
At $601m, the category contributed 21.1 per cent to total exports, SNZ said.
The next largest contributors to the increase in total exports were meat and edible offal, up $78m, dominated by lamb, and casein and caseinates, up $32m.
The main commodity offsetting the increase in exports was aircraft and parts, down $93m, due to the export of a large aircraft in February 2006, SNZ said.
Exports to both Britain and Korea rose $39m, with an $18m increase in frozen lamb cuts to the former and a $19m increase in log exports to the latter.
The largest decrease for any destination in February was exports to Australia, which were down $42m (7.5 per cent), dominated by a drop in crude oil.
With imports, had the value of large aircraft imported in February 2006 been removed, the increase would have been up 7.8 per cent, SNZ said.
The largest decreases in imports were from aircraft and parts, down $214m, and petroleum and products down $112m.
The country responsible for the largest rise in imports was China, up $116m, with mechanical machinery and equipment, and electrical machinery and equipment the main contributors.
The second largest rise was from Australia, with crude oil and cars the main contributors to a $94m increase.
For the three months ended February, merchandise goods exports were up $826m (11.1 per cent) at $8.3b, compared to the three months ended February 2006.
Milk powder, butter and cheese led the increase, with an 18 per cent increase, accounting for about a third of the rise.
Merchandise goods imports for the three months were up $558m (6.2 per cent) to $9.6b.
The mechanical machinery and equipment category was up $191m, while iron and steel and articles rose $105m, SNZ said.
- NZPA
