FX.co ★ NZ Terms of Trade Miss Expectations in Q3

In the quarter ending September 2025, New Zealand experienced a 2.1% decline in its merchandise terms of trade, reversing the previous quarter's gains and significantly underperforming against the anticipated 0.3% growth. This downturn was primarily due to a 1.6% drop in export prices relative to imports, which increased by 0.5%. Despite exporters seeing a 3.0% rise in the overall value of goods exported—reaching $19.1 billion due to higher export volumes—the value of imports inched up by a mere 0.1% to $19.4 billion as the volume of imports decreased by 1.2%. Consequently, New Zealand exporters find their purchasing power diminished, despite the growing volume of exports.