Trade gap tipped to balloon to $7.3b

New Zealand's annual trade deficit is believed to have widened to a record $7.3 billion last month, according to the median forecast of nine economists surveyed by Bloomberg News.

The trade gap is thought to have widened because imports probably rose 7.1 per cent last month from a year earlier and exports probably stalled, according to economists.

Statistics New Zealand will report the figures this morning.

Analysts monitor a rolling 12-month deficit because the monthly figures are not seasonally adjusted.

The survey said the nation probably had a $300 million deficit last month compared with $106 million a year earlier.

- BLOOMBERG