'Trade deficit reduced

Press, Volume CXVI, Issue 34086, 25 February 1976, Page 22

'Trade deficit reduced

1 f.VZ. Press Association) 1 I WELLINGTON. I February 24. New Zealand's overt seas tradins in January ’ produced a smaller deficit than in the previous month and in the same month last year. The current account deficit of ss7m in January followed monthly deficits of sB4m and SI 19m in November and Deicember, 1975. according to

Reserve Bank statistics given (this evening. In January, 1975, the deficit was s79m. Import payments totalled s2lsm, while the level of export receipts increased from the December figure to slBsm. There was a small net capital inflow of s3m. CURRENT PAYMENTS Current payments exceeded current receipts by s26lm ini the three months to January last, compared with lower ( deficits in the three previous three-monthly periods'. However, this latest result

was s4sm less than the de-i ficit recorded in the corres-' ponding period of 1974-75 as' the deficit on trade trans- • actions improved from $237m to sl7Bm, while the non-l trade ("invisible”) deficit was I somewhat larger.

The level of import payments in the last three months, s7o3m, has continued to rise, and is currently 15.2 per cent higher than that for the same period in 1975. This growth has occurred almost entirely in the last six months, suggesting that the August. 1975, devaluation of the New Zealand dollar has been a major contributing factor. Export receipts of $526m for the three months to January last were sls2m. or 40.7 per cent, higher than for the same period 12 months: ago. All main commodity, groups recorded a higher level of receipts, hut significant increases occurred in dairy' products, mainly butter : and cheese (-$5l m), manu-j factured exports (- s34m) and wool (s29m). The rise of sl4m in the latest three-monthly “invisible" deficit over that for the three months to January, 1975, has been caused mainly by higher payments of interest on overseas borrowing, and to a lesser extent, overseas expenses of New Zealand firms. Invisible receipts rose by: s29m largely’ as a result of increased travel and transport! receipts.