New Zealand's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 0.8% QoQ in the first quarter (Q1) of 2026, compared with a 0.5% expansion (revised from 0.2%) in the fourth quarter of 2025, Statistics New Zealand showed on Thursday. This reading came in weaker than the expectation of a rise of 0.9%.
NZD/USD gains ground after registering minor losses in the previous day, trading around 0.5850 during the Asian hours on Monday. The pair remains stronger as the New Zealand Dollar (NZD) holds ground following the release of domestic economic data.
Standard Chartered’s Bader Al Sarraf and Nicholas Chia note that the Reserve Bank of New Zealand kept the OCR at 2.25% in a split 3-3 decision, with the governor’s casting vote preventing a hike.