NZ: Imports surged to new all-time high of $5.8 billion in November

"Imports in November 2017 were valued at $5.8 billion. The value exceeded last month’s record of $5.4 billion," Statistics New Zealand reported on Wednesday.

Key takeaways

Imports rose $1.2 billion (27 percent) from November 2016.

This was the largest rise in imports since a 62 percent rise in December 1999.

Exports rose $757 million (20 percent) to $4.6 billion, a new high for a November month.

This was also the largest percentage rise in export values since January 2014, which also featured high dairy prices.

The November 2017 monthly trade deficit was $1.2 billion (26 percent of exports), compared with an average of $447 million (11 percent of exports) for the previous five November months.