Statistics New Zealand has released the Q2 national accounts, which revealed that New Zealand’s real GDP declined by 0.2% over the quarter, with per capita GDP declining by 0.5%.
This represented the seventh consecutive quarterly decline in per capita GDP, which fell by 2.5% year-on-year.
Gross national income has also fallen sharply in per capita terms, as illustrated below by Justin Fabo at Antipodean Macro:
New Zealand has recorded the largest decline in per capita GDP compared with the decade average across the Anglosphere nations:
Justin Fabo warns that near-term indicators suggest that New Zealand’s economy could have weakened further in Q3.
Firm activity has softened materially:
The composite PMI is also weak:
Job ads in New Zealand have also declined sharply, pointing to rising unemployment:
On the upside, confidence has improved on the back of the Reserve Bank’s latest rate cut and the promise of more easing:
Therefore, New Zealand’s economy should soon bottom out as the Reserve Bank continues to lower the official cash rate.
