NZ economy contracts 1.6% in 1Q, bigger hit to come

NZ economy contracts 1.6% in 1Q, bigger hit to come
Rebecca Howard
New Zealand’s economy saw its biggest contraction in 29 years in the first quarter as travel restrictions took hold and the country moved toward a lockdown to stop the spread of covid-19, but the bigger hit will come in the June quarter. The economy fell 1.6 percent in March, the first quarterly fall since December 2010 and the largest fall since March 1991, Stats NZ said. The economy grew 0.5 percent in the December quarter. While economists had forecast a wide range of numbers, from a 2.7 percent contraction to 0.6 percent growth, the d...

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