New Zealand Has NZ$1.971 Billion Trade Shortfall

(RTTNews) - New Zealand posted a merchandise trade deficit of NZ$1.971 billion in September, the New Zealand Bureau of Statistics said on Monday.

That missed expectations for a shortfall of NZ$775 million following the downwardly revised NZ$1.536 billion deficit in August (originally NZ$1.349 billion).

Exports rose 12 percent on year to NZ$6.47 billion following the downwardly revised NZ$6.48 billion in the previous month (originally NZ$6.66 billion).

Imports jumped an annual 18 percent to 8.44 billion, up from the upwardly revised NZ$8.00 billion a month earlier.

For the third quarter of 2026, imports were up 2.1 percent on quarter to NZ$24.4 billion and exports added 1.2 percent to NZ$22.4 billion for a trade deficit of NZ$2 billion.