Although Deficit Still Persists In Some Asian Countries The Trade Balance Is Improving

Daily Forex Fundamentals | Written by ecPulse.com | May 26 09 07:36 GMT |

Philippine and New Zealand released today their trade balance as well as the exports and imports, as it indicated that although deficit still persists in both countries the trade balance is improving therefore confirming that the worst part of this economic crisis might of ended and that its time for stability and recovery to take place. New Zealand's economy is still suffering from the worst global crisis since the Great Depression as global demand has dropped significantly in recent months since consumption worldwide was badly hurt determining commodities prices to fall by 30% in April from the same month last year. The report has shown that the deficit in the trade balance of goods during the month of April witnessed a slight contraction to 4108, compared to the previous revised reading which showed a deficit of 4676. This resulted from a decline in both exports and imports as the exports reached to 3.65 billion New Zealand dollars compared to the month of March when exports reached to 4.04 billion New Zealand dollars, therefore exports fell 4.6% from the same period last year. Weak global demand had a considerable affect on New Zealand's economy being one of the first countries that fell into the spiral of global recession since New Zealand's exports of raw materials such as oil and aluminum declined, but imports also fell as in April they reached to 3.37 billion New Zealand dollars compared to the month of March when imports reached to 3.72 billion New Zealand dollars and also less than the expected 3.53 billion New Zealand dollars. With the decline in business confidence in New Zealand during the first quarter of this year to its lowest levels since 1974 have increased rates of layoffs and the unemployment rate which was reflected on the behavior of consumers determining them to reduce spending that dropped driving imports to decline by 18% compared to the same period last year the highest decline since records began in 1962. Philippine today also released its report on the trade balance during the month of March where the actual reading showed the deficit narrowed to 363 million dollars compared with the month of February when it showed a deficit of 552 million dollars. On the other hand imports fell in March to 3269.4 million dollars declining by 36.2% compared with the previous value of 3058.8 million dollars recorded during the previous month when it declined by 31.9%. However since export levels are still near their lowest levels as global demand has not seen enough improvement we cant confirm that the economic crisis had ended yet most probably the worst part of this economic crisis might of ended and that its time for stability and recovery to take place. China's economy is expected to be one of the first to recover from this economic crisis since economic indicators showed some stability therefore the Chinese government predicted a growth rate of 8% at the end of this year, and the recovery of such a huge economy the third largest in the world will have a significant role in supporting the global demand and could be the real starting point for the Asian region In more economic data South Korea announced its consumer confidence index during the month of May coming at 105.0 which is better than the previous reading of 98.0, and the reason behind the improvement in consumer confidence is the government stimulus plan which aimed to support internal growth by reducing taxes and supporting companies by provide liquidity through banks, in addition to the reduction in interest rates by the central bank attracting more investments to the country. Ecpulse disclaimer: The content of ecPulse.com and any page in the website contain information for investors/traders and is not a recommendation to buy or sell currencies, stocks, gold, silver & energies, nor an offer to buy or sell currencies, stocks, gold, silver & energies. The information provided reflects the writers' opinions that deemed reliable but is not guaranteed as to accuracy or completeness. ecPulse is not liable for any losses or damages, monetary or otherwise that result. I recommend that anyone trades currencies, stocks, gold, silver & energies should do so with caution and consult with a broker before doing so. Prior performance may not be indicative of future performance. Currencies, stocks gold, silver &energies presented should be considered speculative with a high degree of volatility and risk