New Zealand Trade Surplus Narrows In May

WELLINGTON, New Zealand--New Zealand's trade surplus narrowed in May from the same month a year earlier, Statistics New Zealand said Tuesday.

The nation's merchandise trade surplus came to 103 million New Zealand dollars (US$75 million) last month compared with a NZ$343 million surplus a year ago.

The New Zealand dollar dipped after the data was released to US$0.7276, from US$0.7284.

Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had expected a surplus of NZ$400 million for the month.

The largest rise in export values was in the dairy commodity group, up NZ$342 million or 42% compared with the same month last year.

"Higher world prices for milk powder helped boost export values in recent months," international trade statistics senior manager Daria Kwon said. "Exports of dairy commodities to China led the increase in values."

Stats NZ said imports for May totaled NZ$4.85 billion, while exports totaled NZ$4.95 billion.

New Zealand had a NZ$3.75 billion trade deficit for the 12 months to May. Economists had expected a deficit of NZ$3.32 billion.

In April, New Zealand posted a trade surplus of NZ$578 million.

Write to Ben Collins at ben.collins@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 26, 2017 19:26 ET (23:26 GMT)