New Zealand trade deficit shrinks, NZD off 55-week low

New Zealand reported a trade deficit of NZD 1.5 billion in October, which compares with a NZD 1.7 billion trade gap in the same month of 2023.

Total exports surged 7.5% year-on-year to NZD 5.8 billion in October. That reflected higher shipments of:

– fruit (314% YoY);
– precious metals, jewelry and coins (77% YoY);
– milk powder, butter and cheese (16% YoY);
– meat and edible offal (6.1% YoY).

Total imports went up 3% year-on-year to NZD 7.3 billion due to higher purchases of:

– railway stock (862% YoY);
– aircraft and parts (644% YoY);
– salt, earths, stone, lime and cement (265% YoY);
– pharmaceutical products (26% YoY).

The New Zealand Dollar was 0.22% firmer on the day against its US counterpart, with the NZD/USD currency pair last trading at 0.5842.

The kiwi dollar has rebounded from a 55-week low of 0.5815, which it registered on Friday.

The US Dollar has softened after President-elect Donald Trump’s nomination of Scott Bessent for Treasury Secretary.

Still, the kiwi dollar has lost 2.19% in value against the greenback so far in November, after depreciating 5.86% in October.

Focus now sets on RBNZ policy decision on Wednesday, with markets fully pricing in a 50 basis point rate cut to 4.25%.