UPDATE: Tepid fourth-quarter growth adds to view rate hikes a long way off

Wed, 15 Mar 2017

(Recasts lede, adds comment from economists) By Rebecca Howard March 16 (BusinessDesk) - New Zealand’s economy expanded less than expected in the fourth quarter, firming up the view that the central bank is likely to keep interest rates on hold for some time to come. Gross domestic product expanded 0.4 percent in the three months ended Dec. 31, following a revised 0.8 percent increase in the September quarter, Statistics New Zealand said. Economists had tipped growth quarterly growth of 0.75 percent in a BusinessDesk poll and the cen...

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