New Zealand Trade Surplus Swings To Surplus

(RTTNews) - New Zealand's trade balance logged a surplus in December driven by a double-digit growth in exports, official data showed Thursday.

The trade balance showed a surplus of NZ$219 million compared to a shortfall of NZ$435 million in November, Stats NZ reported. In the same period last year, the balance showed a deficit of NZ$373 million.

Exports advanced 17.0 percent on a yearly basis after rising 8.1 percent in November. The top export destinations were China, Australia and the USA.

At the same time, imports rebounded 6.5 percent following a 4.8 percent drop. The main contributor for the increase was mechanical machinery and equipment.

Data showed that the annual trade deficit in the year ended December was NZ$7.7 billion compared to a shortfall of NZ$13.6 billion last year.