According to self-published statistics from StatsNZ, New Zealand's seasonally adjusted Current Account deficit widened by nearly $400 million to $7.4 billion for the third quarter ended in September. Annualized Current Account for the year into September saw a narrowing, however, contracting to an annualized $30.6 billion, or 7.6% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) compared to the year ended September 2022 of 8.3% of GDP.

According to StatsNZ, the widening of the quarterly Current Account was only partly offset by a $579 million narrowing of the services deficit, compared with the $633 million widening of the goods deficit and an additional $292 million widening of the primary income deficit.

Market Reaction 

The NZD/USD is holding steady heading into Wednesday's early Asia market session, trading just above 0.6130.

About Stats NZ's Current Account

The Current Account released by the Statistics New Zealand is a net flow of current transactions, including goods, services, and interest payments into and out of New Zealand. A current account surplus indicates that the flow of capital into New Zealand exceeds the capital reduction. Normally, a high reading is seen as positive (or Bullish) for the NZD, whereas a low reading is seen as negative (or Bearish).