NZ Herald Wednesday 15 March 2017 New Zealand’s current account deficit narrowed in the fourth quarter, partly bolstered by a larger services balance surplus as tourism continues to boom.
The deficit was $2.3 billion in the three months to December 31 versus a revised third-quarter deficit of $5b, Statistics New Zealand said. The annual deficit was $7.1b, or 2.7 per cent of gross domestic product for the year ended December 2016 versus a deficit of $8.3b or 3.4 per cent of GDP in the prior year.
The biggest quarterly movement was in the services balance, which was a surplus of $1.1b versus a revised deficit of $73 million in the prior quarter. Exports were $5.4b versus $4.5b in the September quarter.
“The number of tourists to New Zealand increased in the December quarter, as did the average amount each tourist spent,” said international statistics senior manager Daria Kwon. Read more…
