New Zealand recorded its smallest annual trade deficit since July 2002 in January, reflecting weaker-than-expected imports outpacing a decline in exports.

For the month of January, merchandise trade recorded a surplus of $269 million, the first in eight months.

The deficit was $178 million in the 12 months ended January 31, from a revised deficit of $549 million in the year through December, according to Statistics New Zealand.

An annual trade gap of $509 million had been expected, according to a Reuters survey.

New Zealand’s trade deficit shrank from$5.4 billion in the 12 months through January 2009, when the economy was in the depths of recession, and hasn’t previously been below $1 billion for a January year since 2002.

The data “represents a dramatic turnaround in New Zealand’s trade position over the past year, underscored by solid agricultural export performance and weak import demand,” said Jane Turner, economist at ASB.

“Over 2010, we expect these trends to begin to reverse,” she said.

Still, “this improvement creates a solid starting point, which should flow through to a smaller current account deficit in 2010.”

Imports fell 12 per cent last month from January 2009 to $2.88 billion, the lowest in more than two years, paced by fertiliser, machinery and diesel fuel, while motor car imports climbed. Exports eased 0.6 per cent to $3.15 billion.

Bron: BusinessWire