NZ trade balance data for August from Statistics New Zealand

-1265 m ..... MISS

  • expected -735m, prior -433m

Exports 3.39bn

  • expected 3.6bn, prior 3.96bn
  • Down 8.7% y/y

Imports 4.65bn

  • expected 4.30bn, prior 4.4bn

More details from the Stats NZ release:

  • Milk powder exports fellto the lowest level since August 2009
  • All top destinations of milk powder fell in value and quantity, with both China and the United Arab Emirates seeing a drop in value of over half
  • The fall in meat exports is partly due to a record high meat season this time last year
  • "The large fall in export value this month comes off the back of high export volumes in the June quarter," international statistics senior manager Stuart Jones said

NZD is a touch lower, sitting around session lows just under 0.7230

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Earlier today from NZ - Westpac-McDermott Miller employee confidence index for Q3

At 110.1 in the three months to September

  • Prior quarter was 101.5

(>100 indicates more optimists than pessimists)