Import-export gap exceeds forecasts

New Zealand's trade deficit continued to deteriorate in January, rising to $399 million, Statistics New Zealand said.

Preliminary figures based mainly on imports show the deficit was worse than economists' $274 million forecast.

The deficit for the year to January rose to $1.45 billion, compared with a surplus of $610 million in the previous 12 months.

As a percentage of exports, the January deficit, at 19.6 per cent, is the largest since 1986.

Exports and imports were down on January last year.

Imports fell $84 million to $2.44 billion, and exports were down $222 million to $2.04 billion.

Exports in January were down 9.8 per cent on January last year and down 14.6 per cent on last December. Imports were down 3.3 per cent on a year earlier and 8.2 per cent down on December.

* Statistics New Zealand's Producer Price Index for the December quarter showed producer output prices fell 0.1 per cent and input prices rose 0.3 per cent.

The PPI is a wholesale inflation index measuring the price of goods as they go in and out of farm and factory gates.

- NZPA