New Zealand tipped into recession in the third quarter, official data showed Thursday, December 19, with the economy suffering an unexpectedly sharp slump that sent the country’s currency tumbling and sparked political finger-pointing.
The conservative coalition government defended its “respect for taxpayers’ money” as the opposition accused it of feeding a “recessionary fire”.
The economy has for months teetered on the verge of recession, with consumer sentiment weighed by high prices, elevated borrowing costs and a housing crisis.
But the latest figures showed gross domestic product fell a bigger-than-expected 1.0 percent July-September from the previous three months. Analysts had forecast a contraction of 0.2 percent.