- Economists had expected current account deficit of NZ$400 mln
- Economist still tipping deficit to narrow further
(Adds economist comment, detail)
WELLINGTON, Sept 14 (Reuters) - New Zealand posted a wider-than-expected current account deficit in the second quarter, official data showed Wednesday.
The actual quarterly deficit in the three months to June totalled NZ$945 million ($684 million) compared with a surplus of NZ$1.18 billion in the previous quarter.
Economists had expected a quarterly deficit of NZ$400 million.
The seasonally adjusted quarterly deficit widened to NZ$1.826 billion from a NZ$1.639 billion deficit the quarter before.
According to Statistics New Zealand, the wider deficit was partly driven by a narrower services surplus as New Zealanders spent more on overseas travel.
"More New Zealanders went overseas this quarter than in previous June quarters. And they spent the most ever recorded while travelling for work and holidays," said Stuart Jones, international statistics manager at the body.
The annual deficit to June totalled NZ$7.38 billion, which equated to 2.9 percent of gross domestic product. Economists had expected an annual deficit of NZ$6.7 billion.
While higher than expected, the annual deficit is slightly narrower than the NZ$7.8 billion deficit in the year ended March due to a decrease in both the primary income deficit and the goods deficit, Statistics New Zealand said.
BNZ Senior Economist Doug Steel said that while the quarterly deficit was slightly wider than the market was expecting, the overall picture "is still pretty positive".
Steel said improving dairy prices and ongoing weakness in import prices will mean it narrows further over the coming quarters.
($1 = 1.3803 New Zealand dollars)
