OECD warns New Zealand recovery is fragile and sees 1.4% growth in 2026

6 articles · Updated · Reuters · May 7

In Wellington, the OECD said growth should rise to 2.3% in 2027 after more than two years of weakness, helped by 325 basis points of Reserve Bank rate cuts.
It urged the RBNZ to keep its mandate stable between five-year reviews, look through an initial fuel-price shock and preserve inflation credibility as energy costs stay high.
The OECD also called for fiscal consolidation, with gross debt seen rising from 59.4% of GDP in 2025 to 63.1% in 2027, and warned ageing costs could push debt towards 200% by 2060.

With inflation high and unemployment rising, should New Zealand’s central bank be forced to choose which crisis to fight?

Did New Zealand’s pandemic stimulus save the economy or just trigger today's inflation and housing crisis?