Describes the flow of all goods and services, income, and transfer payments to and from New Zealand 's economy. The flow of goods and services to and from a country, also known as the trade balance, makes up the largest portion of the Current Account. The income component includes income-generating assets, dividends from stocks or interest from bonds. Lastly, transfer payments are unilateral payments to and from the country (such as foreign aid donations and foreign worker salaries being sent home).

The Current Account is in surplus when export receipts of goods, services, income, and transfer payments exceed the import payments for them. Positive current account figures are bullish for the New Zealand Dollar because it indicates that New Zealand goods are in demand and that foreigners will seek the NZ Dollar to purchase them. This in turn will drive up the exchange rate. Conversely, a negative current account indicates that imports exceed exports and weigh down the currency rate. In the case that the Current Account reaches critical deficit levels, monetary and fiscal authorities will take measures to reduce it, usually by weakening the New Zealand Dollar to make its exports cheaper and therefore more attractive.

The headline number is the Current Account balance and the percentage change in the Current Account from the previous quarter.

Release Schedule : 22:45 (GMT); quarterly, over 2 months after the reporting period
Source of Report : Statistics New Zealand
Web Address : http://www.stats.govt.nz/default.htm
Address of Release : http://www.stats.govt.nz/products-and-services/info-releases/crown-acct-analysis-info-releases.htm
Refer Crown Accounts Analysis