A trade surplus

The Herald reports:

Strong export commodity prices have enabled the country to record its first annual trade surplus for nearly eight years.

Exports exceeded imports by one-sixth or $656 million last month, $200 million more than the market expected.

It pushed the trade balance for the year ended April into the black, by $116 million, the first annual surplus since July 2002, Statistics New Zealand said.

Goldman Sachs JB Were economist Philip Borkin said the most encouraging thing about that was the last time a positive annual trade balance was achieved, the New Zealand dollar was below 50c against the US dollar.

An annual trade surplus is rare indeed. And if we look at a graph of the NZ dollar:

Then we realise how unusual it is to have a surplus when the NZ dollar is so high. Thanks goodness for the global commodity price being high.