Slight economic growth
New Zealand’s gross domestic product (GDP) rose by 0.2% in the March quarter, following a 0.1% decrease in the December quarter, according to fresh figures released by Stats NZ.
Industry-level performance
Ruvani Ratnayake (pictured above), national accounts industry and production senior manager at Stats NZ, highlighted the mixed results at the industry level, with eight out of 16 industries experiencing growth this quarter.
“There were a range of results at industry level, with 8 of the 16 industries rising this quarter,” Ratnayake said.
Rental, hiring, and real estate services saw a 0.9% increase, while electricity generation drove a significant 2.9% rise in the electricity, gas, water, and waste services sector.
Several industries, including construction, business services, and manufacturing, experienced declines.
“While manufacturing fell overall, food and beverage manufacturing was up. This was reflected in a rise of dairy product exports, such as milk powder,” Ratnayake said.
GDP per capita decline
Despite the overall GDP growth, GDP per capita decreased by 0.3% in the March quarter, marking the sixth consecutive quarterly fall. On an annual basis, GDP per capita dropped by 2.4%.
Expenditure measure insights
The expenditure measure of GDP grew by 0.1%, driven by a 0.8% increase in household and overseas visitor spending in New Zealand. However, this growth was offset by a 6.1% rise in imports and a 1.3% decline in gross fixed capital formation, Stats NZ reported.
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