Infometrics January newsletter
January 2019
NEWSLETTER
January is always a busy month in the Infometrics office as we prepare to release the first forecasts of the year, as well as update our Sector Profiles and Regional Economic Profiles.
Gareth Kiernan starts the year with his annual "From the beach" observations. Then, in his article on Regional GDP he looks at which regions have been growing.
More detail about the products referenced in Gareth’s articles is available in our "New from Infometrics" article and on our website.
Brad Olsen looks farther afield at how China is faring in our regular Chart of the Month series. This seems an appropriate topic as we approach Chinese New Year.
Gong hei fat choy! 新年快樂 We wish you great happiness and prosperity in the Year of the Pig.
From the beach 2019
New Zealand’s domestic economy remains in a similar position to where it was 12 months ago: prospects of middling growth, somewhat hampered by capacity constraints and a tight labour market, and with some of the most significant potential shifts being driven by government policy and rule changes. In contrast to this largely unchanged domestic picture, many question marks have appeared during the last year over the international economic environment.
Auckland’s growth dominance continues, for now
Infometrics’ new estimates of regional GDP show that Auckland was the fastest growing region in the year to March 2018, expanding by 3.9% (see Graph 1). Auckland has regularly been towards the top of the regional league table throughout the last seven years. Its growth during 2018 was underpinned by a strong services performance, with industries such as professional, scientific, and technical services, financial and insurance services, and retail trade all expanding by more than 5.0%
New at Infometrics in February 2019
January/February is always a busy time for Infometrics. This is the time we update our Regional Economic Profiles and Sector Profiles, we also release the first forecasts for the year.
Chart of the month: China a country to watch
Concerns about the outlook for the global economy in 2019 are heightened. A key worry is that slowing economic growth in China will undermine international trade activity, as growth in Chinese consumer spending slows.