New Zealand Economy Grows Slowly

New Zealand economic activity, as measured by gross domestic product (GDP), was up 0.2 percent in the September 2009 quarter. This followed a 0.2 percent increase in the June 2009 quarter. These small increases in economic activity follow five quarters of contraction in the New Zealand economy. In level terms, economic activity during the September 2009 quarter was 2.9 percent lower than in the December 2007 quarter when economic activity last peaked.

By industry, the largest movements were:

• real estate and business services, up 2.2 percent, driven by business services
• mining activity, up 11.1 percent, driven by an increase in both extraction (mainly offshore oil production), and exploration (as measured by metres drilled)
• manufacturing activity, down 1.9 percent, and now back to the June 1999 quarter level
• construction activity, down 4.4 percent, the sixth decrease in the last seven quarters.

“The economy continued to grow slowly in the September 2009 quarter, and the picture across industries was mixed,” said National Accounts manager Rachael Milicich. “On the production side of the economy, mining and business services showed the largest increases.”

Spending by New Zealand households was up 0.8 percent in the September 2009 quarter. Spending on durable goods (big-ticket items such as furniture, appliances, and cars) was up 2.0 percent, and spending on services also increased. Household spending on non-durables (which includes alcohol and food) fell 0.8 percent.

Data from Statistics New Zealand