New Zealand trade deficit larger than expected in September

New Zealand recorded a trade deficit of over $1bn for the second straight month in September. While the trade balance typically reaches a low point around this time of year, the monthly deficit was much larger than expected, with no particular item accounting for the surprise. 

Exports fell by 8.3% in seasonally adjusted terms, largely due to a 12% fall in dairy export volumes. Dairy export prices also fell; the recent rebound in world dairy prices won't be captured in the trade figures until around November. Volumes of meat, wood and oil exports were up for the month. 

Imports fell by 5.5%, though this was entirely due to the lack of any large plane imports this month. Otherwise, imports remained strong across a range of categories, including petroleum, machinery and electronics.