Imports down 4.7 p.c. in March

Press, 31 May 1985, Page 4

Imports down 4.7 p.c. in March

By

MICHAEL HANNAH

in Wellington

The value of imports ordered in March fell almost 5 per cent on February orders, according to official figures released yesterday. Importers placed orders worth $341 million, compared with orders worth $358 million in February, a drop of 4.7 per cent. At the >ame time last year, the value of orders rose 25 per cent.

Imports do not follow seasonal patterns, but the drop in March orders could indicate that businesses anticipated a slow down in activity by the time the imports arrived, two to three months after orders were placed.

However, orders were placed in March at a time of uncertainty about the floating of the dollar, and orders placed since then may be more reliable indicators of domestic business expectations over the win-

ter months. A rise in the level of stocks held by merchants over the March quarter, noticed by the Institute of Economic Research in its March survey of business opinion, may also have contributed to a drop in orders as merchants worked to reduce stocks.

Orders placed over the March quarter were worth $986.5M, a drop of 5 per cent on orders placed in the December, 1984, quarter. A year earlier, March quarter

orders rose 8.4 per cent over the previous quarter. Imports paid for in March, however, were worth 2.4 per cent more than in February. Payments totalled S7BIM, compared with $762M in February. Payments made in the March, 1985, quarter totalled $2360M, a rise of 2.4 per cent over December quarterly payments. At the same time a year ago, March quarterly payments rose 6.4 per cent over the previous quarter.