WELLINGTON, June 14 (Xinhua) -- Record imports in the first three months of 2017 contributed to the largest quarterly current account deficit since December 2008, New Zealand's statistics department Stats NZ said on Wednesday.
New Zealand had a current account deficit of 2.8 billion NZ dollars (2 billion U.S. dollars) for the March 2017 quarter, 1.1 billion NZ dollars (0.8 billion U.S. dollars) wider than the December 2016 quarter deficit, said a statement which described it as "the biggest quarterly deficit since the global financial crisis in 2008."
For the year ending March 2017, New Zealand's annual current account deficit was 8.1 billion NZ dollars (5.86 billion U.S. dollars), or 3.1 percent of GDP, with the percentage of GDP the same as the deficit for the year ending March 2016, the statement said.
The current account balance records the value of New Zealand's transactions with the rest of the world in goods, services, and income, it said, adding that when New Zealand has a current account deficit, it implies foreigners earn more from New Zealand than the country earns from overseas economies.
The goods deficit widened by 404 million NZ dollars (292.4 million U.S. dollars) to reach 1.2 billion NZ dollars (0.87 billion U.S. dollars) for the March 2017 quarter, the biggest goods deficit since the June 2008 quarter, according to the statistics department.
"New Zealanders spent more on imports of goods this quarter than we earned from our exports of goods," said international statistics senior manager Daria Kwon, adding, "The increased spending on goods, like cars and machinery, led to a record high value of imports this quarter."
