New Zealand GDP Expands For 2nd Quarter

The economy of New Zealand expanded 1.1% on quarter in Q3 2025, rebounding from a 1% contraction in Q2 and above forecasts of 0.9%. Business services rose 1.6% and made the largest upward contribution to growth, driven by a 2.1% rise in professional, scientific, and technical services, such as computer system design and related services. Also, manufacturing was up 2.2%, driven by food, beverage, and tobacco. On the other hand, information media and telecommunications was the largest downward contributor, down 2.1%. On the expenditure side, exports were up 3.3%, with increases seen in travel services, dairy, and insurance. Gross fixed capital formation rose 3.2%, as businesses invested more in physical fixed assets, including transport equipment and plant, machinery, and equipment, supported by imports of related capital goods and motor vehicles. Household consumption expenditure edged up 0.1%. Year-on-year, the GDP expanded 1.3%, also rebounding from a 1.1% fall in Q2.

New Zealand’s economy contracted by 0.9% quarter-on-quarter in Q2 2025, reversing an upwardly revised 0.8% expansion in the previous quarter and exceeding market expectations of a 0.2% decline. This downturn ended two straight quarters of growth that followed back-to-back contractions. By industry, primary output fell 0.3% (vs. +0.5% in Q1), while goods-producing industries dropped (-3.5% vs. +2.4% in Q1), led by steep declines in mining (-4.1% vs. +1%) and manufacturing (-2.4% vs. +0.1%). The services sector was broadly flat, with notable declines in transport, postal and warehousing (-0.6% vs. +0.6%), healthcare and social assistance (-0.7% vs. +1.7%), and financial and insurance services (-0.5% vs. -0.5%). In contrast, wholesale trade (+1.4% vs. -0.4%), information media and telecommunications (+1.8% vs. -0.8%), and rental, hiring and real estate services (+0.7% vs. +0.3%) posted gains. On an annual basis, GDP contracted 0.6% in Q2, matching the pace of decline in the first quarter.

New Zealand’s economy expanded by 0.8% quarter-on-quarter in the first quarter of 2025, accelerating from 0.5% growth in the previous period and slightly beating market expectations of 0.7%. This marked the second consecutive quarter of growth following two quarters of contraction. Economic activity increased across all three major industry groups, with the strongest gains seen in manufacturing (+2.4% vs. +0.1% in Q4), followed by professional, scientific, technical, administrative, and support services (+2.4% vs. -0.1%), and agriculture, forestry, and fishing (+0.8%, unchanged). Construction rebounded with a 0.5% gain after a 3.6% drop in the previous quarter, while mining also returned to growth at +1% following a -1% decline. However, some sectors posted declines, including arts and recreation services (-1.9% vs. +1.3%) and information, media, and telecommunications (-0.8% vs. -2.9%). On an annual basis, GDP contracted by 0.7% in Q1, following a 1.3% decline in Q4.