STORY: New Zealand GDP falls 0.1 pct in Q1 as recession starts
DATELINE: June 16, 2023
LENGTH: 00:01:37
LOCATION: AUCKLAND, New Zealand
CATEGORY: ECONOMY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of Auckland and harbor
2. various of Auckland's largest container terminal
3. various of Auckland's commercial streets at night

STORYLINE:

The New Zealand economy has signaled a recession as the gross domestic product (GDP) fell for the second quarter, according to quarterly figures released by the statistics department Stats NZ on Thursday.

The GDP fell 0.1 percent in the March 2023 quarter, following a 0.7 percent fall in the December 2022 quarter, Stats NZ said.

The second consecutive quarter of negative economic growth signals the start of an economic recession.

"Today's outcome fits the definition of a technical recession by the barest of margins," Finance Minister Grant Robertson said, adding the economy was affected by the second-largest natural disaster to hit New Zealand in the first quarter.

This result reflects the impact of the Auckland floods and Cyclone Gabrielle, with estimates of hundreds of millions of dollars of lost production and activity across agriculture, forestry, fishing, transport and manufacturing due to the extensive flooding, Robertson said.

The minister looks to export growth, the tourism rebound, returning international students, migration inflows, and investment in the recovery to handle the challenging times.

The two consecutive quarter declines follow growth in the second and third quarters of 2022, Stats NZ's economic and environmental insights general manager Jason Attewell said.

Over half of the industries saw declining figures in the last quarter. Business services were the biggest downward driver, down 3.5 percent, which was partly offset by a 2.7 percent increase in information media and telecommunications in the first quarter, Attewell said.

"Management consulting, advertising, scientific and engineering design services drove the fall in business services," Attewell said, adding the March 2023 quarter included the initial impacts of Cyclones Hale and Gabrielle and teachers' strikes.

The adverse weather events caused by the cyclones contributed to falls in horticulture and transport support services, as well as disrupted education services, he said.

"Fewer teaching days led to falls in primary and secondary education services," Attewell said.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Auckland, New Zealand.
(XHTV)