New Zealand’s goods exports rose 3.8% yoy to NZD 6.5B in March. Goods imports fell -25% yoy to NZD 5.9B. Monthly trade balance was a surplus of NZD 588m, versus expectation of NZD -505m deficit.
Exports to US and EU showed increases of 8.0% yoy and 3.6% yoy respectively. However, exports to major trading partners like China (-1.9% yoy), Australia (-3.7% yoy), and Japan (-15% yoy) declined.
On the import side, there were significant reductions across all major partners. Imports from EU saw the sharpest decline at -43% yoy, followed closely by US at -42% yoy. Imports from China, Australia, and South Korea were down -20% yoy, -13% yoy, and -21% yoy respectively.
