New Zealand's annual current account deficit rose to a 3-1/2-year high in the December quarter, and it is expected to widen further this year as a strengthening economy boosts import demand and the earnings of foreign investors. The deficit for the year to December 31 was NZ$10.51 billion ($8.7 billion), equivalent to 5.0 percent of GDP, the highest since June 2009, data from Statistics New Zealand showed on Wednesday.
That was just above market expectations of 4.9 percent of GDP, and higher than a deficit of 4.7 percent of GDP in the September quarter.