Articles in ‘Economics’

Auckland, New Zealand — After a challenging 2025, Kiwibank economists are forecasting a marked economic turnaround next year (2026), with signs of recovery emerging across key sectors and confidence rising among households and businesses. **2025: A Difficult Year, But Momentum Building** Economists at Kiwi Bank describe 2025 as a year where the New Zealand economy struggled to gain sustained momentum. Throughout the year, higher interest rates…

Inflation has moved back above the Reserve Bank’s target range, driven less by discretionary spending than by unavoidable household bills. Council rates and electricity costs are now biting hardest, pushing inflation higher even as families cut back elsewhere. *Summarised by Centrist* Statistics New Zealand figures show the consumer price index rose 0.6 per cent in the December quarter. This has lifted annual inflation to 3.1 per cent. That…

Stats NZ has delivered a run of unexpectedly positive data across housing, exports and retail, a sign the economy may finally be stabilising after two years of strain. New home consents rose 6.2 percent in the year to October, driven almost entirely by townhouses, flats and apartments. Higher-density homes accounted for nearly 18,000 consents, with Auckland producing half the national lift. **October alone saw a 23.5 percent jump in consents…