US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's visit to NZ is expected to mark the start of a closer relationship, Fran O'Sullivan looks at what's on the agenda.

NZ had a lower than expected trade deficit of $269m in November, while the annual trade deficit fell to its lowest level since September 2002.

New Zealand recorded a seasonally adjusted current account surplus of $340 million in the September quarter.

Milk powder prices on Fonterra's online trading auction have continued their upwards march.