Wellington – The economy grew a staggering 2.8 per cent in the three months to the end of June, Stats NZ has announced.
Bank economists had been forecasting strong GDP growth of between 1.1 per cent and 1.5 per cent, when compared to the March quarter, following 1.4 per cent growth in that three-month period. However, the actual figure has blown all forecasts out of the water.
ANZ chief economist Sharon Zollner has been expecting the economy to shrink by as much as 6 per cent this quarter, due to the lockdowns and restrictions since prompted by the Delta community outbreak. But she said ahead of Thursday’s Stats NZ release that while the June-quarter figure would be overtaken by current events, it was still useful to gauge how the economy had been performing pre-lockdown.
Stats NZ said the 2.8 per cent rise in June 2021 quarter GDP was led by the services industries. The primary and goods-producing industries also contributed to growth in the quarter.
Business services also contributed to the growth, rising by 4.8 per cent over the three-month period due to higher activity in engineering, architectural and consulting services, it said.
Economic activity in the June quarter was 4.3 per cent above the level it was the final three months of 2019 – the last quarter before New Zealanders first heard of the Covid pandemic sweeping China.
The Reserve Bank is next due to consider whether to raise the official cash rate (OCR) on October 6.