Deficit up for January year

Press, 7 March 1978, Page 4

Deficit up for January year

PA Wellington' New Zealand’s current account deficit for th’e year! , ended January 31, 1978, was! SSB6M. slightly higher than -the $572M deficit for the year ended January 31, 1977,, but an improvement of SI7M : on the figure of S6O3M for -the year ended December 31, 11977. The deficit for the January, ’year was made up of a sur-l plus of 5234 M on trade transactions (an improvement of i SI93M since the year ended i January, 1977) and a deficit of; SBI9M on “invisible” trans-' actions. Export receipts for the year to January, 1978, were 53399 M an increase of S4O4M. ■or 14 per cent, over the i January, 1977, year. Import payments rose by S2I2M (7’ ; per cent) over the year to i January, 1978, to a level of i§3l66M. “Invisible” receipts’ amounted to $744M (16 per cent over the previous year), ! while “invisible” payments; I continue to rise at a much I faster rate (24 per cent) to reach $1563M. The main con-! ! tributors to this growth were i exports and other transport : payments, travel, overseas | expenses of New Zealand! :firms, interest and invest-, ment income payments, and official debt interest. Capital transactions in the year under review (including’

lithe International Monetary .1 Fund) resulted in a net inflow • I of S4B2M made up of a net ; i official capital inflow of i ■ 524.3 M and a net private , capital inflow of $239M. , i Official overseas reserves !at the end of January • amounted to $594M. A current account surplus, I of SI2M was recorded in the ■ month of January, 1978, i ■’which compares with deficits ■ of SIISM for the month and S6M for the 1 month of January, 1977. ; Export receipts at $27lMi i were 8 per cent higher than in January, 1977, mainly bei cause of substantial increases fin the receipts for butter and! , forest products. Manufacytured exports, which re-1 :I corded a sharp decline in the! ' month of December, were 13 i per cent up on January, 1977,1 reflecting a recovery of re-. ; ceipts for metals and metal! • manufacturers. Import payments, at 52.38. M ;i(3 per cent higher than in! i January, 1977) were high in! i relation to the value of ta-| ■ ports landed in the last fewi y months, indicating again that: : importers are continuing to i pay for imports landed! I earlier in the year. Trade transactions re-. I icorded a surplus of $33M,' : while the deficit on “in-1 i visibles” (non-merchandise) I transactions was S2IM. i