Kiwi trade slumps

Soaring oil prices and slowing exports have given New Zealand its worst annual trade deficit on record, government figures show.

The annual deficit in the year ending June 30 was NZ$5.2bn (€2.9m), Statistics New Zealand said in a statement. It compared with the previous worst deficit of €2.6bn in the year ending May 30, and €1.9bn in the year ending in June 2004.