Our nearest neighbour Australia’s economy was 1.1% weaker in the December quarter from the same quarter of 2019, the US’ was down 2.4% and Britain’s was down 7.8%, according to OECD figures.
“Globally, there have been a variety of experiences and responses to the pandemic and these need to be taken into consideration when comparing the recent GDP results for different countries,” StatsNZ national accounts manager Paul Pascoe said.
The September quarter gain was revised to 13.9% from the previously published 14% and GDP was down 2.9% in calendar 2020, largely because of the nation’s lockdown through much of the June quarter as part of the fight against the pandemic.
Economists had forecast anything from quarterly growth of 0.5% to a contraction of 0.3%, but had acknowledged forecasting was unusually difficult because of the pandemic and said they wouldn’t be surprised by larger figures in either direction.
Pascoe says seven out of 16 industries StatsNZ measures contracted with construction, retail trade and accommodation being the largest decliners, but rising residential building activity partly offset those falls and construction remains at historically high levels.
Pascoe noted that the December quarter is traditionally the beginning of the peak international tourism season and that tourists are largely absent because of the covid-19 pandemic.
“Businesses ranging from hotels and motels to restaurants, cafes and bars faced much lower activity in calendar year 2020 than in 2019, with far fewer international tourists in the country because of border restrictions,” he said.
Construction was down 8.7% in the quarter and down 7.3% for calendar 2020, while manufacturing fell 0.7% in the quarter and fell 3.1% in the year.
Activity in electricity, gas, water and waste services was up 1.9% in the quarter but down 1.8% in the year.
The strongest positive industry contributors in the latest quarter were transport, postal and warehousing, but they were still operating below pre-covid levels and remained weaker in calendar 2020 than in 2019.
“Transport services, in particular, have been impacted by the lack of international travel,” he said.
Activity in services overall rose 0.1% in the December quarter but was down 2.2% over the calendar year, while activity in goods-producing industries fell 3.2% in the quarter and down 4.4% in the year.
Activity in primary industries fell 0.6% in the quarter and was down 4.4% for the calendar year, largely because of an 11.6% annual fall in mining.
Agriculture was down 2% in the quarter and 2.7% in the year but fishing and related activities were up 3.1% in the quarter and up 1.3% in the year. Forestry and logging were up 1.7% in the quarter but down 6.3% in the year.
Gross domestic expenditure fell 1.5% in the December quarter and was down 1.1% for calendar 2020.
While spending by households rose 1.1% in the quarter, mainly driven by restaurant and ready-to-eat meals and recreational services. Annually, it was down 4.2%.
Investment in fixed assets fell 1.4% in the latest quarter, down 7.4% in the year, and exports of goods and services fell 1.1% in the quarter and 12% in the year. Exports of services were down 17.3% in the quarter and 32.4% in the quarter because of low international tourism.
Imports of goods and service rose 9.1% in the latest quarter but were down 16.5% for the calendar year.
-BusinessDesk
