Imported goods rose $182 million (4.4%) in August 2016 from the previous corresponding period, and imported vehicles and parts rose 13% according to figures released by Statistics New Zealand.
However, it reports that imports of petroleum products and aircraft and parts declined.
Capital goods lead the fall in August 2016 down $195 million (45%) year on year. Crude oil fell $106 million (38%) year on year and saw a 16% decline in quantity.
Tim Kelleher, head of institutional foreign exchange sales at ASB Bank told BusinessDesk “there’s a lot of seasonality” in the data and the car imports “indicates signs of domestic strength”.
