New Zealand Q3 GDP Climbs 0.6% On Quarter

New Zealand’s gross domestic product expanded 0.6 percent on quarter in the third quarter of 2017, Statistics New Zealand said on Thursday.

That was in line with expectations and up from the upwardly revised 1.0 percent increase in the three months prior.

“Construction activity recovered this quarter, unwinding the previous two quarterly falls,” national accounts senior manager Gary Dunnet said. “This reflected higher construction-related investment, with investment in infrastructure and residential buildings also reporting strong increases.”

Service industries, such as care and residential care, services, and arts and recreation also contributed to growth.

Household spending was up 0.9 percent, driven by spending on durable goods, and services. Spending on durable goods increased 2.3 percent, due to increased spending on audio-visual equipment (such as televisions and consumer electronics), clothing, furniture and furnishings, and used cars.

Household spending on services increased 0.8 percent this quarter, with households spending more on recreational and sports services.

GDP per capital increased 0.2 percent this quarter, following a 0.5 percent increase in the June quarter.

Annual GDP growth for the year ended September 2017 was 3.0 percent – beating forecasts for 2.4 percent and up from 2.8 percent in Q2.

The size of the in current prices was NZ$278 billion.