Statistics New Zealand figures showed the 1.5% rise followed a 2.3% fall in December.
In March, import prices fell 5.1%, faster than export prices which were down 3.7%.
Compared to a year ago, the terms of trade were down 5.3%.
Import prices were dominated by a 29% fall in petroleum import prices.
In contrast, prices of manufactured imports rose 0.4% as a result of the weaker dollar.
Prices fell for most export commodities, although the 6% fall in dairy prices was relatively mild after two quarters of double-digit declines.
The nation's terms of trade measures the quantity of imports the country can buy with a set amount of exports.
BNZ economist Stephen Toplis said yesterday the latest figures did not say the worst had been confirmed for the terms of trade.
''We expect them to reverse back down a bit in the second quarter, as the recent double dip in dairy prices comes through in the overseas trade indices and on account of the moderate rebound in oil prices since early 2015.''
The ANZ commodity index is out today.
While the figures could be a ''mixed bunch'', the recent reduction in the New Zealand dollar against the United States currency needed to be kept in mind, he said.
Part of the fall in the US dollar-denominated commodity prices over the last 12 months was because of the about 20% lift in the trade-weighted US dollar over the period.
''But unless New Zealand's commodity export price index takes much more of a turn for the worse, we'll be talking about an all-up correction in the nation's goods terms of trade of around 8% from a 41-year high mid last year.''
That would leave the terms stronger than they were in mid-2013 and was not the end of the world for the economy, Mr Toplis said.
An 8% fall from peak was close to what the Reserve Bank forecast for trade in its March monetary policy statement.
