2020.01.2920:59:00UTC+00New Zealand December Trade Surplus NZ$547 Million

New Zealand had a merchandise trade surplus of NZ$547 million in December, Statistics New Zealand said on Thursday.

That exceeded expectations for a surplus of NZ$100 million following the NZ$753 million deficit in November.

Exports were up 4.8 percent on month to NZ$5.54 billion, shy of expectations for NZ$5.70 billion but up from NZ$5.23 billion in the previous month.

Imports sank 5.4 percent to NZ$5.00 billion versus expectations for NZ$5.40 billion and down from NZ$5.98 billion a month earlier.

For all of 2019, New Zealand had a trade deficit of NZ$4.31 billion.