2008.12.2217:36:00UTC+00New Zealand Recession Worsens As Q3 GDP Falls 0.4%

New Zealand's recession worsened marginally in the third quarter of 2008.

Statistics New Zealand reported Tuesday that the nation's economic activity, as measured by Gross Domestic Product, contracted by 0.4 percent for the three months to September, marking the third straight quarter of decline.

GDP had decreased 0.2 percent in the June quarter and 0.3 percent in the March quarter.

The most commonly used definition of a recession is two consecutive quarters of GDP contraction.

On an annualized basis, Statistics NZ said GDP posted a gain of 1.7 percent through September.

The agency said goods-producing industries declined 1.4 percent on quarter and service industries were down 0.2 percent.

The overall expenditure measure of GDP was down 0.7 percent on quarter, while household consumption declined 0.2 percent. Fixed capital investment was down 8.6 percent on quarter.

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