New Zealand Trade Balance in NZD terms falls in January by 976M

New Zealand's NZD Trade Balance fell by 976 million in January, adding to the previous month's 368 million decline (revised from -323 million).

The annualized trade balance fell by slightly less at -12.5 billion YoY compared to the previous period's -13.62 billion YoY (revised from -13.57 billion).

January's Imports and Exports both grew less than previous, with MoM Imports coming in at 5.91 billion versus the previous 6.22 billion (revised from 6.26 billion), while monthly Exports came in down by nearly 20% at 4.93 billion compared to the previous 5.85 billion (revised from 5.94 billion).

Market reaction

The NZD/USD remains stuck in near-term chart churn as the pair struggles to make a clean bullish break into the 0.6200 handle, and the Kiwi is adrift near 0.6180.

About New Zealand's Trade Balance

The Trade Balance released by the Statistics New Zealand is a measure of balance amount between import and export, and it is published in New Zealand dollar terms. A positive value shows a trade surplus while a negative value shows a trade deficit. Any variation in the figures influences the domestic economy. If a steady demand in exchange for exports is seen, that would turn into a positive growth in the trade balance, and that should be positive for the NZD.