New Zealand - Current Account Balance





New Zealand: Current Account Balance

Mnemonic TAB.INZL
Unit Mil. NZD, SA
Adjustments Seasonally Adjusted
Quarterly 2.49 %
Data 2023 Q4 -6,866
2023 Q3 -6,699

Series Information

Source Statistics New Zealand
Release Balance of payments (BoP)
Frequency Quarterly
Start Date 6/30/1971
End Date 12/31/2023

New Zealand: Trade

Reference Last Previous Units Frequency
Balance of Goods Feb 2024 -218.1 -1,088 Mil. NZD, NSA Monthly
Exports of Goods Feb 2024 5,889 4,816 Mil. NZD, NSA Monthly
Imports of Goods Feb 2024 6,107 5,904 Mil. NZD, NSA Monthly
Current Account Balance 2023 Q4 -6,866 -6,699 Mil. NZD, SA Quarterly
Exports of Goods and Services 2023 Q4 24,033 23,946 Mil. NZD, SA Quarterly
Imports of Goods and Services 2023 Q4 27,310 27,497 Mil. NZD, SA Quarterly
Net Exports 2023 Q4 -3,277 -3,551 Mil. NZD, SA Quarterly
Real Exports of Goods and Services 2023 Q4 17,778 17,227 Mil. Ch. 2009/2010 NZD, SA Quarterly
Real Imports of Goods and Services 2023 Q4 22,060 22,712 Mil. Ch. 2009/2010 NZD, SA Quarterly
Real Net Exports 2023 Q4 -4,282 -5,485 Mil. Ch. 2009/2010 NZD, SA Quarterly

Release Information

For New Zealand, the Balance of Payments current account summarises international trade in goods and services, and investment income and transfers with the rest of the world. A deficit in the current account shows that expenses were greater than earnings for a given period. A deficit must be balanced by a net inflow of investment from the rest of the world.

Active:

  • Framework: IMF BPM6
  • Measurement: Millions of New Zealand dollars (Mil. NZD)
  • Adjustments:
    • Trend
    • Seasonally adjusted (SA)
    • Not seasonally adjusted (NSA)
  • Native frequency: Quarterly
  • Start dates: 1971Q2, 1996Q2, 1997Q1, 2000Q2

Predecessor:

  • BPM5 - 1993Q1 to 2014Q1 ("_B5")

The balance of payments is made up of:

  • Current account - records transactions in goods, services, income and current transfers.
  • Capital account - covers all transactions that involve the receipt or payment of capital transfers and the acquisition or disposal of non-produced, non-financial assets.
  • Financial account - royalties and government services involving a country’s claims on (assets), and liabilities to, the rest of the world. Both sides can have net increases (positive flows).
  • Direct investment - The direct investment threshold applied is 10 percent or more of the equity ownership in an enterprise at the individual investor level for both direct investment in New Zealand and New Zealand direct investment overseas.
  • Portfolio investment -  Portfolio investment comprises transactions in debt securities (bonds and notes, and money market instruments) and equities that are not classified as either direct investment or reserves. 
  • Other investment - The main sources used to collect data on other investment are the QIIS and the Quarterly Managed Funds Survey. The QIIS collects data on both assets and liabilities, while the Managed Funds Survey collects only assets data. The stock and flow of other investment assets and liabilities data are available by sector. 
  • Reserve assets -  Reserve assets comprise the financial claims on non-residents that are available to the RBNZ and the New Zealand Treasury. The principal holder of New Zealand’s reserves is the RBNZ. The data, which relate to transactions in reserve assets as opposed to changes in holdings, are obtained from RBNZ records.
  • External Debt - External Debt is the value of all debt owed by residents of New Zealand to non-residents.

Essential principles guiding the compilation of New Zealand's balance of payments statistics are:

  1. balance of payments statistics include transactions between residents of New Zealand and residents of other countries.
  2. transactions are recorded at the time ownership changes, or, in the case of services, when the service is performed.
  3. transactions are recorded at their market value. Foreign currency transactions are converted to their New Zealand dollar equivalent.

BPM6 is the International Monetary Fund’s Balance of Payments and International Investment Position Manual, Sixth Edition (BPM6). It is the current international standard adopted by New Zealand in the compilation of balance of payments and international investment statistics.

Further reading

At IMF:

  • No entry