Don’t expect activity to have picked up much in the last quarter

The New Zealand (NZ) Treasury’s latest economic assessment showed on Tuesday that “activity is not expected to have grown much in the last quarter”.

Supplementary food

GDP in the June quarter fell 0.2 percent, less than expected, as population growth masked economic weakness.

With a significant amount of data due in the next couple of weeks, we should know more about where we are in the cycle.

Consumer and business expectations are improving, indicating potential economic upside.

The current account deficit remained high at 6.7% of GDP due to a slow recovery in services exports and strong import volumes.

The OECD forecasts stable global growth, with inflation easing and supportive policies in China and the US.

The US and China have implemented policy easing to support their economies.

Market reaction

NZD/USD was last seen trading at 0.6340, down 0.09% on the day, slightly undercut by the headlines above.