New Zealand reported a merchandise trade surplus of NZ$204 million in May, as announced by Statistics New Zealand on Monday. This figure surpassed the anticipated surplus of NZ$155 million and followed a revised shortfall of NZ$3 million in April, originally recorded as a NZ$91 million surplus.
Exports increased by 2.9 percent month-on-month, reaching NZ$7.18 billion, up from the revised figure of NZ$6.31 billion in the previous month (initially reported as NZ$6.42 billion). Imports also saw a rise, amounting to NZ$6.95 billion compared to NZ$6.32 billion the month prior.
For the year, goods exports were valued at NZ$68.9 billion, a decrease of NZ$3.8 billion from the previous year. Annual goods imports totaled NZ$78.9 billion, dropping by NZ$10.9 billion from the previous year.
The annual trade deficit stood at NZ$10.1 billion. For the year ending in May 2023, the trade deficit was reported at NZ$17.1 billion.
