New Zealand - Q4 current account

BoP Current Account Balance, $ -2.614bn

  • expected -2.875bn, prior was -4.749bn

Current account GDP ratio, -3.1%

  • expected -3.3%, prior was -3.3%

Via Stats NZ:

  • The larger deficit was driven by a fall in earnings from both goods and services exports
  • The value of exported goods fell $554 million in the December 2015 quarter, led by dairy
  • This was almost all price driven, with a 13 percent fall
  • The value of imported goods also declined, down $276 million this quarter, following a record value of imported goods in the September 2015 quarter.
  • In the December 2015 quarter services exports fell for the first time since the December 2013 quarter, driven by travel exports. Despite an increase in the number of international visitors to New Zealand in the latest quarter, total expenditure fell $57 million.

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This data point is not much of a market mover at all.

NZD is already under the cosh after last night's disappointing dairy auction result

  • New Zealand dairy auction GDT price index -2.9% vs 1.4% prior
  • NZDUSD making new session lows.

Expectations were for a small rise in price.