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

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

Diesel prices drifted downwards throughout much of 2024, by September reaching their lowest level since Russia invaded Ukraine in early 2022. But the relief for transport operators has been short-lived, with a renewed lift of almost 30c/L since early October. Read

There’s reason for optimism about the New Zealand economy and business conditions over the next 24 months, according to Infometrics’ latest forecasts, as the post-inflation recession gets put behind us and interest rates return to more normal levels. Although economic growth is not forecast to get above 2.5%pa during 2025 and 2026, the recovery will be underpinned by increased household spending, a more stable housing market, and strength in export commodity prices. Read

“Survive until 2025” was the oft-repeated mantra throughout last year as households grappled with high mortgage rates, businesses saw demand fall away, and spending across the economy was down. But for a while in mid-2024, even hopes of a brighter 2025 seemed like they might be too optimistic, until... Read

Chief Forecaster Gareth Kiernan has penned Infometrics’ traditional Christmas Carol. Sung to the tune of Perry Como's Christmas song “It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas”. Read

Concrete roads are well suited for high intensity traffic and are more cost effective in the long run according to a new economic report. Read

Cost pressures for the road transport industry were mixed in the September quarter. Interest costs eased 2.1% to be down 4.5% from a year ago, representing the first annual decline since 2021, as the Reserve Bank cut the official cash rate for the first time since 2020. The OCR was lowered by anothe... Read

The New Zealand economy’s recovery from the stagnation of the last two years will remain patchy until mid-2025, according to Infometrics’ latest forecasts. Although the Reserve Bank’s interest rate cuts since August have finally provided some light at the end of the tunnel for Kiwis, continued increases in the unemployment rate will mean households remain cautious in their spending decisions over the next nine months. The high proportion of mortgage lending on fixed rates also means that the easing in monetary conditions will not have an immediate effect on household budgets. Read

The commercial property market has always been more difficult to track and analyse than the housing market. Whereas the latter has a wealth of data available from REINZ, CoreLogic, and other sources, much of our non-residential work relies on collecting piecemeal data from several different commerci... Read