New Zealand avoids recession as eased Covid measures help spur 1.7% GDP growth

Border reopenings and the relaxation of Covid restrictions helped New Zealand’s economy to 1.7% growth in the June quarter. Photograph: Mark Baker/AP

Increased spending on travel and leisure driven by eased Covid restrictions has helped helped New Zealand dodge recession, with its economy growing 1.7% in the quarter that ended in June.

That growth reverses a 0.2% drop in GDP the previous quarter, and means the country escapes a “technical recession”, defined as two consecutive quarterly drops in GDP.