New Zealand Second-Quarter GDP Rises 0.2% Quarter-on-Quarter, Beating Expectations
MacroDigital Finance
New Zealand's second-quarter gross domestic product growth rate, released by Statistics New Zealand on the 17th, slowed from the previous quarter as the Middle East crisis dented confidence, but still came in slightly above market expectations. GDP rose 0.2% quarter-on-quarter, beating analysts' forecast of 0.1% growth and the Reserve Bank of New Zealand's forecast of zero growth, though it decelerated from the 0.8% increase in the first quarter. Year-on-year, GDP grew 2.6%, exceeding the market forecast of 2.2%. Michael Gordon, senior economist at Westpac, said the figures confirm the message that the New Zealand economy largely withstood the conflict between the United States and Iran but was not entirely unscathed, and he expressed the view that they would help ease concerns among some policymakers about downside growth risks. Following the stronger-than-expected data, the New Zealand dollar edged up from 0.5718 US dollars to 0.5724 US dollars. Jason Attewell, a spokesperson for Statistics New Zealand, said only 9 of 16 industries grew, and that construction contributed the most to overall GDP growth with a 2.7% increase, while transport, postal, and warehousing contributed the most to the downside.
