GDP growth dampens in the September quarter – Media release
20 December 2018
Gross domestic product (GDP) rose 0.3 percent in the September 2018 quarter, down from 1.0 percent in the previous
quarter, Stats NZ said today.
The latest growth is the lowest quarterly growth rate since December 2013.
Growth was mixed, with 11 of the 16 industries recording higher production in the September 2018 quarter.
“Primary industries grew 2.2 percent, while growth in service industries slowed to 0.5 percent. The goods-producing
industries fell 1.0 percent, dragging down overall growth this quarter,” national accounts senior manager Susan Hollows
said.
“Construction activity fell as repair work winds down on roads damaged in the Kaikōura earthquake. However, residential
and non-residential construction continued to grow steadily.
“The largest contribution to the downturn in goods-producing industries was manufacturing, with food manufacturing down
significantly,” Mrs Hollows said.
Growth in the service industries was widespread but moderate, with no industries having strong movements.
In the primary industries, increases in mining, and forestry and logging led growth. Offsetting the increase in primary
industries was a fall in agriculture after rising strongly in the June 2018 quarter.
Mining rose 12 percent, partly recovering from the sharp fall in the June quarter. Oil, gas, and coal production all
increased. The Pohokura gas field outage contributed to the large fall in June. The field was still operating at limited
capacity, which constrained the bounce back in mining.
GDP per capita was flat in the September 2018 quarter, following an increase of 0.5 percent in the June 2018 quarter.
Annual GDP growth for the year ended September 2018 was 3.0 percent.
The size of the economy in current prices was $291 billion, for the September 2018 year.
Text alternative for Size of the economy (GDP), for the September 2018 year
Diagram shows the relative components of gross domestic expenditure rounded to the nearest $5 billion.
Total size of the economy is $290 billion.
Four components increased GDP, with household spending at $170 billion, government $55 billion, investment $70 billion,
and exports $80 billion. A fifth component, imports $80 billion, decreased GDP.
Video
See the Gross domestic product: September 2018 quarter video.
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