FX.co ★ New Zealand GDP Contracts 0.7% Annually in Q1

In the first quarter of 2025, New Zealand’s economy experienced a year-on-year contraction of 0.7%, a slight improvement over the anticipated 0.8% decline, following a 1.3% decrease in the prior quarter. The annual downturn was primarily caused by a 3.1% contraction in the goods-producing sectors, though this was an improvement from the 5.6% decline witnessed in Q4. Service sectors remained stagnant, showing zero growth after a marginal increase of 0.1% in the previous quarter, while primary industries saw an expansion of 1.7%, marginally higher than the 1.5% recorded earlier. Despite the annual weakness, the economy demonstrated resilience on a quarterly basis, with GDP rising by 0.8% in Q1, up from 0.5% in Q4. This marks the second consecutive quarter of growth, indicating that a gradual recovery is in progress.