Statistics New Zealand has released national accounts figures for the September quarter of 2017, with Gross domestic product (GDP) rising by 0.6% over the quarter to be up 3.0% year-on-year. GDP per capita rose by 0.2% in the September quarter and by a soggy 0.8% year-on-year.
The growth in GDP was driven overwhelmingly by construction, which rebounded to 3.6% growth over the quarter:
Real gross national disposable income (RGNDI) – which measures the real purchasing power of New Zealand’s disposable income – was up 0.7% in the September quarter:
RGNDI per capita was up 0.3% in the September quarter and by 2.4% over the year. The stronger growth in RGNDI compared with GDP was driven by a 0.7% increase in New Zealand’s terms-of-trade in the September quarter to an all-time high as export prices rose more than import prices:
Statistics New Zealand points out that New Zealand’s economy is growing in line with the OECD average:
However, it should be noted that New Zealand’s population is growth is among the fastest in the world at around 2.1%, owing to the nation’s high immigration program:
Thus, New Zealand’s growth figures are being heavily inflated, much like Australia’s have been over the past 15 years.
