NZ's terms of trade drops 1.9% in 1Q, first fall since September 2016

NZ's terms of trade drops 1.9% in 1Q, first fall since September 2016
Rebecca Howard
By Rebecca Howard June 1 (BusinessDesk) - New Zealand's merchandise terms of trade fell from a record high in the March quarter and broke a five-quarter streak of rises as weaker dairy prices weighed.  The terms of trade, which measures the purchasing power of New Zealand’s exports relative to imports, fell 1.9 percent in the March quarter, after lifting a revised 1.3 percent in the December quarter, Statistics New Zealand said. Economists had expected a 2 percent fall, according to the median in a Bloomberg poll. The fall means New Zeala...