Treasury doubles central bank's forecast for drought impact

Treasury doubles central bank's forecast for drought impact
By Pattrick Smellie April 8 (BusinessDesk) - The Treasury forecasts the summer drought will knock 0.7 of a percentage point off annual economic growth, more than twice the 0.2 percent to 0.3 percent forecast by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand in its latest monetary policy statement, on March 14. In commentary accompanying its monthly economic update, the Treasury says the spike in global dairy prices will help offset some of the drought's impact and that the rest of the national economy is feeling chipper, especially the two largest cities: A...