New Zealand GDP Expands 1.3% Annually in Q4

New Zealand’s economy expanded by 1.3% year-on-year in the three months to December 2025, marking its second consecutive annual growth. This followed a 1.1% expansion in the previous period and was less than the expected 1.7% growth. The rebound was driven by a recovery in primary industries, led by strong growth in agriculture, forestry, and fishing (0.5%, up from -0.1%). The services sector also strengthened markedly, rising 0.7% compared with 0.7% in the third quarter, supported by solid gains in retail trade (1.3%), wholesale trade (0.9%), financial and insurance services (1.5%), and public administration and safety (0.5%). Meanwhile, the goods-producing sector continued to contract but at a much slower pace (-0.4% versus 1.7%), with utilities posting robust growth of 0.7%. On a quarterly basis, the economy expanded by 0.2%.

New Zealand’s economy expanded by 1.3% year-on-year in the three months to September 2025, marking its first annual growth in five quarters. This followed a 1.1% contraction in the previous period and was in line with expectations. The rebound was driven by a recovery in primary industries, led by strong growth in agriculture, forestry, and fishing (2.5%, up from 1.1%). The services sector also strengthened markedly, rising 1.6% compared with 0.3% in the second quarter, supported by solid gains in retail trade (3.5%), wholesale trade (3.3%), professional, scientific, technical and administrative services (3.1%), and public administration and safety (2.5%). Meanwhile, the goods-producing sector continued to contract but at a much slower pace (-0.9% versus -5.9%), with utilities posting robust growth of 4.4%. On a quarterly basis, the economy expanded by 1.1%.

New Zealand’s economy contracted by 0.6% year-on-year in Q2 2025, extending the 0.6% decline seen in the previous quarter and defying expectations of flat growth. The downturn was driven by a 4.7% drop in goods-producing industries (vs. -2.8% in Q1), with sharp declines in construction (-7.6% vs. -8%) and manufacturing (-3.2% vs. +2%). In contrast, service industries grew 0.5%, up from a 0.1% rise in Q1, while the primary sector inched up 0.1%, slowing from 0.5% growth previously. On a quarterly basis, GDP fell 0.9%, reversing a 0.9% expansion in the first quarter.