New Zealand Treasury: March quarter economic indicators mixed

The New Zealand Treasury is out with its monthly economic indicators for the month of March, with the key findings found below.

“Real GDP in the December 2018 quarter, annual average growth easing to 2.8%.

Growth was relatively broad-based, led by the retail, transport, real estate and construction industries, partly offset by falls in the primary industries. 

Seasonally adjusted goods balance deteriorated slightly, widening $109 million on the back of lower dairy prices and reduced volumes of meat exports. More recent merchandise trade data shows that exports have increased over the past two months.

The RBNZ left the OCR unchanged at 1.75%, but stated that the weaker global economic outlook and reduced momentum in domestic spending meant that the more likely direction of their next OCR move is down.”