New Zealand’s terms of trade rose 1.5 percent in the second quarter, falling short of the expected 3 percent.
Dairy and meat led the export price gain with overall export prices up 2.4 percent, outpacing the 0.9 percent increase in import prices.
Statistics NZ reported that dairy export prices rose 3.9 percent in the second quarter, led by butter and cheese. Over the past two years, butter exports have been about 20 percent of the value of New Zealand’s dairy exports.
The gain in import prices was led by machinery and electrical equipment, which was offset by a 4.2 percent fall in petroleum and petroleum products prices.
Export volumes rose 6.8 percent while imports gained 2.3 percent, resulting in the overall value of exports rising 9 percent to NZ$12.9 billion in the second quarter while the value of imports rose 2.9 percent to 13.5 million.