June trade balance, +$247m
- expected 100m, prior was 285m
June exports, 4.20bn
- expected 4.25bn, prior was 4.60bn
June imports, 3.95bn
- expected 4.10bn, prior was 4.32bn
–
The big news this morning has already happened: Reserve Bank of New Zealand cash rate announcement – rate hike of 0.25%
Now we watch the data on the countdown to the next rate hike: Hello NZD. Please stay on the line, your tightening cycle has been placed on hold and will be resumed shortly (maybe March)
–
Both exports and imports are lower than expected, keeping the slight weakening in the data theme in NZ going.
From Statistics New Zealand:
- Exports growth seen in late 2013 was driven by rising dairy prices
- Falling dairy values this quarter contributed to a fall in total exports
- Goods exports were up $5.5 billion to $51.2 billion from the June 2013 year. This increase was almost entirely driven by milk powder, butter, and cheese. For the same period, goods imports were up $3.5 billion to $50.0 billion. The trade balance for the year ended June 2014 was a surplus of $1.2 billion (2.3 percent of exports).
- seasonally adjusted value of goods exported fell 7.4 percent to $12.4 billion in the June 2014 quarter
- Seasonally adjusted imports increased 0.5 percent ($66 million)
