KEY POINTS:
New Zealand's November trade deficit was slightly smaller than expected at $785 million, figures out today from Statistics New Zealand show.
The median of economists' forecasts in a Reuters poll had been for a deficit of $837 million.
The November year trade deficit was $6.01 billion, compared to the median forecast of $6.05 billion.
November imports at $3.64b were below the poll median of $3.74b, while exports for the month at $2.85b were close to economists' expectations.
The monthly trade deficit was 27.5 per cent of exports. All November months during the past decade were in deficit, averaging 22.8 per cent of exports.
SNZ said exports were up 10.6 per cent ($273m) on November 2005, led by an increase of 11.8 per cent ($65m) in the milk powder, butter and cheese category.
Skimmed milk powder was the main contributor to the increase, followed by whole milk powder, while the export value of butter decreased.
Other increases included a $65m rise in exports of aircraft and parts, while logs and sawn timber were the main contributors to a $38m (23.2 per cent) increase in the value of logs, wood and wood articles.
Exports of aluminium and aluminium articles rose $35m (39.1 per cent), SNZ said.
Australia spent $12m more on NZ beverages, more than half of it for wine.
Monthly imports were down 4.6 per cent ($176m) on the same month a year earlier.
But when the value of large aircraft imported in November 2005 was removed, imports increased in November 2006 by 0.9 per cent. Aircraft and parts imports dropped $301m (93.7 per cent).
Mechanical machinery and equipment imports also fell, down $73m (14.2 per cent).
Petrol and avgas imports were down $72m and $29m, but both were imported in large, irregular shipments.
The largest category rise in imports was $51m (14.4 per cent) for electrical machinery and equipment, mostly due to mobile phones and wind-powered generators.
For the three months ended November exports of merchandise goods were $8.4b, up $1b (13.7 per cent) on the same period a year earlier.
Milk powder, butter and cheese (up 18.6 per cent) continued to lead the increase, contributing $258m to the gain.
Imports of merchandise goods for the three months were valued at $11b, up $491m (4.7 per cent).
Commodities contributing most to the increase were petroleum and products, where were up $250m (21.5 per cent), followed by electrical machinery and equipment up $152m (15.9 per cent).
Deutsche Bank chief economist Darren Gibbs said the figures were close to expectations overall.
"What was interesting was that, while crude oil imports fell, presumably due to timing reasons, consumer imports topped a billion dollars for the second month running.
"That suggests retailers were preparing for a good Christmas and the anecdotal evidence suggests they got one."
- NZPA
