What it is
A small, open economy a long way from its markets, which earns its living abroad from farming and tourism.
What the economy is known for
- Exports led by dairy products, with meat, fruit, timber and wine beside them
- Tourism is a large earner of foreign income
- China and Australia are among its main trading partners
- A small market, so world conditions are felt quickly
A description of structure, in words. No size, share or ranking is given: those are figures, and they are read at the statistical offices named below.
Its central bank and mandate
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s task is to keep prices stable over the medium term. It was the first central bank to be given a formal inflation target. Policy is set by its Monetary Policy Committee, through the Official Cash Rate.
Reserve Bank of New Zealand on Central Bank Watch
The policy rate, the last decision and the next meeting are not shown on this site: they are read at the bank’s own publication.
The releases that matter, and who publishes them
- Consumers Price IndexPublished by Stats NZExplainer: CPI
- Labour market statisticsPublished by Stats NZExplainer: Jobless rate
- Gross Domestic ProductPublished by Stats NZExplainer: GDP
- Official Cash Rate decision and the Monetary Policy StatementPublished by Reserve Bank of New ZealandExplainer: Rates
- Global Dairy Trade auction resultsPublished by Global Dairy Trade
No dates or figures are shown here: each publisher’s own calendar is the authority. The explainers are in Economic Events; a release without a link has no explainer on this site yet.
Its main stock index
S&P/NZX 50. The main index of companies listed in New Zealand. It is not a GIO4X instrument.
GIO4X lists no instrument on a stock index of New Zealand. The index is named for orientation only. The indices GIO4X does list are on the Indices page.
Its currency
The currency of New Zealand is the New Zealand dollar (NZD), issued by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand. GIO4X lists one currency pair that contains it; they are set out on the currency’s profile.
Words worth knowing
A reference page. Educational information, not investment advice or a recommendation to trade. It gives no figure, no ranking and no forecast.