New Zealand posted a seasonally adjusted current account deficit of NZ$6.5 billion in the fourth quarter of 2021, Statistics New Zealand said on Wednesday.
That missed forecasts for a shortfall of NZ$6.213 billion following the NZ$8.3 billion deficit in the three months prior.
The seasonally adjusted goods deficit widened to NZ$2.3 billion and the services deficit widened to NZ$1.9 billion. The primary income deficit widened to NZ$2.1 billion and the financial account recorded a net inflow of NZ$6.4 billion.
The current account deficit for the year ended 31 December 2021 widened to NZ$20.2 billion (5.8 percent of gross domestic product [GDP]) from the NZ$2.7 billion deficit for the December 2020 year (0.8 percent of GDP).
