The economy – second half pick-up

Media release

16 December 2015

The economy – second half pick-up

Mid-year uncertainty has given way to growing business confidence at the close of 2015.

A range of sectors report optimism and increasing activity, says BusinessNZ Chief Executive Phil O’Reilly.

“The dairy sector still faces headwinds and El Nino is affecting some regions with dry conditions, but other sectors of the economy like construction and tourism are going from strength to strength,” Mr O’Reilly said.

Drivers of future growth include strong inward migration and housing demand, strong growth in freight movement, a favourable exchange rate for exporters and historically low interest rates.

Risk factors include high household and farm debt, El Nino, terrorism threats and absence of significant regulatory reform.

The BusinessNZ Planning Forecast for the December 2015 quarter sits at 14, up 10 on the previous quarter and up 4 on a year ago.

The BusinessNZ Planning Forecast incorporates BusinessNZ’s Economic Conditions Index (ECI) which tracks 33 indicators, including GDP, export volumes, commodity prices and inflation, debt and confidence figures.

The BusinessNZ Planning Forecast for the December 2015 quarter is here on www.businessnz.org.nz

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