NZ terms of trade reaches new 40-year high in 4th-qtr as import prices fall

NZ terms of trade reaches new 40-year high in 4th-qtr as import prices fall
March 3 (BusinessDesk) - New Zealand’s terms of trade rose to a 40-year high for the second straight quarter in the final three months of 2013 as import prices fell more than export prices. On a volume measure, dairy products led exports higher while imports were unchanged. Terms of trade, which measures the quantity of imports the country can buy with a set amount of exports, gained 2.3 percent in the fourth quarter to the highest level since December 1973, according to Statistics New Zealand. It would need to climb another 3.5 percent to ma...