Balance of Payments and International Investment Position: March 2008 quarter

Media release –: Quarterly current account deficit widens as income from abroad falls

Highlights

The current account deficit for the year ended March 2008 was $13,787 million (7.8 percent of GDP), compared with $13,837 million for the year ended December 2007 (7.9 percent of GDP). New Zealand's seasonally adjusted current account deficit for the March 2008 quarter was $3,527 million, $410 million larger than the December 2007 quarter.		There was a net inflow of capital into New Zealand of $2.0 billion in the March 2008 quarter. New Zealand's net international liabilities were $153.2 billion at 31 March 2008, an increase of 1.2 percent from the December 2007 quarter.

Dallas Welch (Mrs)	26 June 2008
Acting Government Statistician	ISSN 1178-0215