Tourists help narrow NZ’s annual current account deficit, offsetting drop in dairy exports

Tourists help narrow NZ’s annual current account deficit, offsetting drop in dairy exports
Jonathan Underhill
By Jonathan Underhill March 16 (BusinessDesk) - Spending by international visitors in New Zealand reached a record high in 2015, helping narrow the nation’s current account deficit and offsetting a decline in the impact of falling dairy exports. The annual current account gap was $7.7 billion, or 3.1 percent of gross domestic product, Statistics New Zealand said. That’s down from $8.1 billion, or 3.3 percent of GDP, in the 12 months ended Sept. 30 and lower than the deficit of $7.9 billion, of 3.2 percent of GDP forecast in a Reuters surv...