New Zealand May Have Entered Recession Sooner Than RBNZ Expected

  • Economy may contract for second straight quarter, survey shows
  • Higher interest rates damp demand but immigration is surging

New Zealand banknotes and coins.

Photographer: Brendon O'Hagan/Bloomberg 

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New Zealand’s economy may have contracted for a second consecutive quarter, putting it into recession sooner than the central bank expected.

Gross domestic product fell 0.1% in the first quarter from the fourth, when it dropped 0.6%, according to the median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of economists. The Reserve Bank predicts 0.3% growth. Statistics New Zealand releases the GDP report at 10:45 a.m. Thursday in Wellington.