New Zealand GDP declined as expected in March 2008 quarter
27 June 2008
New Zealand’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) declined 0.3% in the March 2008 quarter, as expected by economists in a Reuters Poll. This follows an increase in economic activity of 0.8% in the December 2007 quarter. For the year ended March 2008, the economy grew 3.0%.
The main contributors to the decline were the agriculture industry (down 5.6%) and the construction industry (down 5.2%).
Investment in fixed assets declined, shown by a 2.0% decrease in Gross fixed capital formation. The main contributor to this was in residential and non-residential buildings. Quarterly spending by households also decreased (-0.4%) for the first time since June 2004. Expenditure on durable goods declined 3.4%, while expenditure on durable items remained constant.