We are increasingly looking to grow our international relationship with India, as demonstrated by Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s recent visit. International relations come in many different forms, so in this article we look at how New Zealand’s relationship with India has evolved in terms of mer... Read

President Trump’s “on-again, off-again” tariffs, and the uncertainty associated with them, have thrown financial markets into a tailspin over the last couple of months. Although New Zealand is not directly in the firing line from tariffs yet, it’s a possibility in coming weeks. Our Chart of the Mont... Read

Export prices are sitting in a strong position, with healthy demand for New Zealand products across the world and healthy supply here at home. Higher dairy production and a record pay-out will inject an additional $4.5b into the economy in the current season, and meat prices have strengthened over the second half of 2024 too. Horticulture exports are in a strong position too, with rising kiwifruit exports after a tough earlier season, and apple exports have recovered well too after Cyclone Gabrielle. Read

The pace of supplier cost increases to Foodstuffs supermarkets slowed further in February, with the Infometrics-Foodstuffs New Zealand Grocery Supplier Cost Index (GSCI) showing an average 1.8% increase in what suppliers charged in February 2025, compared to a year earlier. Read

Operating costs for transport companies were broadly lower in the final quarter of 2024, continuing a trend of moderating cost pressures throughout last year. Read

There are some early, small, tentative signs of a turnaround according to Infometrics’ latest monitoring of regional economies, but tough conditions remained for many areas and sectors at the end of 2024. Read

The tourism recovery has been uneven, with different country or region markets in focus. Over the 2024 calendar year, the US cemented itself as New Zealand’s second-largest inbound visitor market, with 11% of total tourist arrivals. The US market has fully recovered back to pre-pandemic levels over 2024. In comparison, China has slipped back to New Zealand’s third-largest market (from second-largest back in 2019), with only a 61% recovery over 2024. Read

Our recent update of the Infometrics Regional Economic Profile provides us with another year of detailed data across regional economies to examine. Over the March 2024 year, our analysis shows that rural economies had the strongest economic activity growth, with the primary sector a key part of this growth story. Read

Every year, some 60,000 young people leave school and make choices about their next steps that are important for the young people themselves, their whānau, and the New Zealand economy. Here we look at the latest data and research on school leaver outcomes... Read

The labour force participation rate has been consistently rising over the past 30 years in New Zealand, providing a welcome boost to the labour supply. But can participation keep rising? Read