The annual trade balance has widened from $3.6billion to $3.8billion, with the balance for May smaller than expected because of a spike in oil imports.
The merchandise trade balance for May, the difference between exports against imports, stood at $103million, with $4.95billion exports against $4.84billion imports, Statistics New Zealand international statistics senior manager Daria Kwon said yesterday.
Monthly imports were $635million, up 15% from May last year. The leading contributor to the increase was petroleum products, up $269million, or 71%, led by crude oil which was up $127million, or 65%, on a year ago, she said.
''Crude oil and other petroleum products are imported in large, irregular shipments, which can cause large percentage fluctuations in values.''
ASB senior economist Jane Turner said the $103million trade surplus for May was smaller than expected because of the spike in oil imports, which could be ''lumpy'' on a month by month basis.
Exports, at $4.95billion for May, were largely in line with market expectations and slightly ahead of the ASB's expectations, Mrs Turner said.
Dairy exports had performed better than expected.
''Meat, fruit and fish exports also increased in May,'' she said.
Westpac's acting chief economist Michael Gordon had forecast the merchandise trade surplus at about $500million; but it had narrowed to $103million in May.
''The difference was largely due to a higher than expected fuel import bill, which is unlikely to be an ongoing concern,'' he said.
In seasonally adjusted terms, exports were down by 6.6%, but Mr Gordon noted that followed a 17.2% export surge in April.
