GDP grew by 3.1 percent in the December 2021 quarter after a 0.2 percent decline in the three months to March. (File representative image: AFP)
New Zealand’s economy shrank in the first quarter, performing worse than the central bank and economists had forecast as COVID-19 infections surged in the country
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New Zealand’s economy shrank in the first quarter, performing worse than the central bank and economists had forecast as COVID-19 infections surged in the country.
GDP grew by 3.1 percent in the December 2021 quarter after a 0.2 percent decline in the three months to March.
It was also down on the 0.3 percent average growth for other countries in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, which have already been reported for the same period.
New Zealand’s central bank predicted modest growth in its May monetary policy statement, while most economists predicted a flat outcome.
New Zealand’s official data agency, Stats NZ, said in a statement, the slowdown in economic activity came in a quarter, marked by the arrival of the Omicron version of COVID-19 in the community.
Finance Minister Grant Robertson said the decline reflected an “unstable global situation”, adding that an easing of border restrictions and an influx of skilled workers and tourists would “help rebuild trade and the economy.”
However, the opposition ACT party said New Zealand was “halfway down the road to recession”, which is technically defined as two consecutive quarters of falling GDP.
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