El Nino weather pattern may dent NZ agricultural output, BNZ says, citing historic data

El Nino weather pattern may dent NZ agricultural output, BNZ says, citing historic data
By Anna Lu May 25 (BusinessDesk) - The El Nino weather pattern that meteorological forecasters are predicting this year is likely to reduce New Zealand's agricultural output, based on historic data, economists at Bank of New Zealand say. Historic data compiled by BNZ suggests a positive co-relation between New Zealand’s agricultural growth and the Southern Oscillation Index, a standardised index of sea level pressure differences between Tahiti and Darwin that is used to determine whether El Nino or La Nina is present. The index dropped be...