High And Low

It has been a topsy-turvy year for New Zealand forest products exporters. After a dire 2005, there was a gleam of hope towards the end of first quarter when the Kiwi dollar began to weaken but as trade picked up margins were eroded by rocketing fuel costs that munched into margins even before logs hit the wharf. Now the dollar has strengthened again bringing back, if not quite doom and gloom, a depressingly familiar uncertainty.