WELLINGTON: New Zealand’s merchandise terms of trade jumped 1.3 percent on quarter in the second quarter of 2015, Statistics New Zealand said on Tuesday. That beat forecasts for a decline of 2.5 percent following the downwardly revised 1.4 percent increase in the first quarter (originally 1.5 percent).
Export prices for goods were up 2.1 percent, while import prices for goods added 0.7 percent. Export volumes dipped a seasonally adjusted 0.2 percent, while import volumes added 0.4 percent.
“Although dairy prices were up in the June quarter, helped by a weaker dollar, they are 28 percent lower than in the March quarter last year,” prices manager Chris Pike said. “Excluding dairy, export prices fell about 0.1 percent in the June 2015 quarter.” The rise in dairy prices in Q2 follows four quarterly decreases. Seasonally adjusted dairy volumes fell, while their value fell 1.8 percent to NZ$2.8 billion in the June quarter.
Dairy (down 4.0 percent) and meat (down 4.2 percent) contributed the most to the fall, while export petroleum products, fruit, and forestry product volumes rose.Petroleum products (up 4.1 percent) had the most significant effect on overall import prices. Excluding petroleum, import prices fell 0.3 percent and volumes fell 0.4 percent.
By value, export goods were up 1.1 percent to NZ$11.5 billion, while imports goods also gained 1.1 percent to NZ$12.0 billion. The services terms of trade slipped 2.6 percent as service exports shed 1.5 percent and service imports gained 1.2 percent.
