New Zealand Faces Worst Recession On Record

Bloomberg: New Zealand in recession as coronavirus lockdown hits economy

* The country fell into its deepest economic slump since the Great Depression in the second quarter as Covid-19 restrictions paralysed business activity
* But the 12.2 per cent drop in GDP is unlikely to dent Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s chances of winning a second term in the October 17 election

New Zealand suffered its worst economic slump since the Great Depression in the second quarter as a strict nationwide lockdown to combat the coronavirus brought the country to a standstill.

Gross domestic product plunged 12.2 per cent from the first quarter, Statistics New Zealand said on Thursday in Wellington. That is the biggest three-month contraction since quarterly records began in 1977.

Economists had forecast a 12.5 per cent decline. From a year earlier, the economy shrank 12.4 per cent, the most recorded in comparable official data dating back to 1955.

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Update #1: Covid pushes New Zealand into worst recession in years (BBC)
Update #2: New Zealand enters recession amid record drop in GDP (DW)

WNU Editor: The experts are calling this a technical recession and will be over very soon. I doubt it. New Zealand is heavily dependent on tourism, and I do not see people flying around as tourists for the next year or two.