PHOTO: PHIL YEO/GETTY IMAGESLoading of logs for export to China has stopped as Chinese ports remain unstaffed due to the coronavirus outbreak.
New Zealand’s economy could be hit by a short, sharp shock at the start of this year, the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research (NZIER) says.
It has released its latest quarterly predictions, which forecast that the combination of coronavirus and drought is likely to be a difficult one for the New Zealand economy.
“Exporters are expected to bear the brunt of the effects, and we expect activity will be flat in the March quarter. Although we expect the effects to linger over the remainder of 2020, as they lessen over time growth should pick up from the March low,” said principal economist Christina Leung.
She said there was still uncertainty over the magnitude and likely duration of a coronavirus outbreak but by the second quarter of this year, growth should be running at 0.7 per cent again.
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