New Zealand’s economy expanded two percent over the September quarter after borders opened and business normalised, Stats NZ revealed.
The figure was more than double expectations, with markets predicting an average of a 0.9 percent growth and the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) forecasting 0.8 percent. This was driven by the services industry, which makes up two-thirds of the economy.
It follows an increase of 1.9 percent during the previous June quarter.
“With borders opening to all visitors in the September 2022 quarter, we have seen more spending on both international and domestic air travel,” Stats NZ manager Ruvani Ratnayake said.
“The business services industry also contributed to the result, driven by computer system services, recruitment services, and travel agency and tour arrangement services.”…