(Bloomberg) -- New Zealand’s economy expanded at the fastest pace in two years in the second quarter, led by farm production.
Gross domestic product gained 1 percent from the first quarter, when it rose 0.5 percent, Statistics New Zealand said Thursday in Wellington. From a year earlier, the economy expanded 2.8 percent, accelerated from 2.6 percent in the previous three-month period. Economists expected a 0.8 percent expansion in the quarter, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey.
While growth exceeded the Reserve Bank’s 0.5 percent forecast, the central bank may remain cautious about the economic outlook amid a slump in business confidence that could damp activity in the medium term. The RBNZ has said it is focused on the current quarter, when it wants to see evidence that fiscal stimulus is boosting growth.
The New Zealand dollar jumped almost half a U.S. cent after the GDP report and bought 66.41 cents at 10:48 a.m. in Wellington.