NZ 1Q current account surplus narrower than expected

NZ 1Q current account surplus narrower than expected
Rebecca Howard
By Rebecca Howard June 14 (BusinessDesk) - New Zealand reported a narrower-than-expected current account surplus in the first quarter while the annual deficit widened on the back of rising imports. The surplus was $244 million in the three months to March 31 versus a revised fourth-quarter deficit of $2.4 billion, Statistics New Zealand said. The annual deficit was $8.1 billion, or 3.1 percent of gross domestic product for the year ended March versus a deficit of $7.8 billion – also 3.1 percent of GDP - in the prior year. “The larger d...