Monthly trade registered a $304 million deficit in January 2013, following a surplus in December 2012. The decrease in monthly exports of dairy and crude oil, and the renewed strength in imports caused this return to the red zone.
Port Taranaki aerial image
Selwyn has regained the coveted title as the best performing local authority in 2012. The position was held by Buller in 2011. Selwyn faced tough competition from near neighbours Ashburton, Waimakariri, Queenstown Lakes and Waimate, who rounded out the top five.
The Australian GDP grew by 0.6 percent for the December quarter of 2012. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) on the 6th March 2013 released their data on the real Australian GDP growth. This comes after a September quarter in 2012 which experienced GDP growth of 0.7 percent.
Members of the New Zealand Manufacturers and Exporters Association remain concerned about markets and production capacity, especially pressures on company margins due to the currency. These sentiments have seen net confidence decrease among the businesses surveyed in the latest New Zealand Manufacturers and Exporters Association Survey of Business Conditions. In the latest survey, manufacturing export sales decreased by 5.6 percent, although domestic manufacturing sales increased by 15.8 percent in February 2013 compared to February 2012. Overall, total sales increased by 2.5 percent year-on-year.
Media Release
metals industry conference 2013
Birds Eye View
The United States has elected Trump, Britain has Brexited with talks of exiting from the Common Market, and an agreement between the EU and Canada looks shaky. Clouds gather on the world of free trade as people express concern over international trade and nationalist sentiment rises.