ASB's Regional Economic Scoreboard has reiterated the significant financial growth throughout the Bay of Plenty and Auckland regions.
The Bay of Plenty has soared up the rankings to claim the top spot in ASB’s Regional Economic Scoreboard for the June 2025 quarter. The region’s strong performance was driven by a standout kiwifruit season, resilient employment growth, and rising consumer confidence.
Southland and Otago rounded out the top three spots, continuing the South Island’s economic dominance over the past year. Meanwhile, Wellington fell to the bottom of the rankings, weighed down by weak consumer sentiment and ongoing public sector restructuring.
The Scoreboard ranks New Zealand’s 16 regions across key indicators, including employment, retail trade, house prices, and consumer confidence. This quarter’s results show rural regions outperforming urban centres, with commodity prices and primary sector strength driving momentum.
“It’s fair to say kiwifruit has brought home the trophy,” said ASB Chief Economist Nick Tuffley. “A strong season has boosted incomes in the Bay, supporting improvements across employment, retail, and housing.”
Tuffley said The Bay’s labour market has shown impressive resilience, even as nationwide conditions remain subdued. With employment growth holding steady and optimism rising, the Bay is set for continued momentum.
He added that Auckland showed promising signs of life during the June quarter, and that its strong population growth and more confident consumers helped lift activity across housing, retail and construction, pushing the City of Sails up five places to rank fifth.
“While there are pockets of pain, particularly around employment and house sales, the region is beginning to show the resilience we expect from the country’s largest economic centre.”
Retail trade volumes nationally rose 0.5 percent quarter-on-quarter, with annual growth at 2.3 percent. Export volumes declined 3.7 percent over the quarter, reflecting global headwinds and the impact of new US tariffs on New Zealand goods. Net migration also continued to ease, with inflows at their lowest since November 2022.
“We’re seeing small pockets of warmth in what’s otherwise an economically chilly quarter. Retail spending is holding up, and consumer confidence is showing signs of life. That’s encouraging as we head into the second half of the year.”
While inflation edged up to 2.7 percent and unemployment rose to 5.2 percent, ASB noted signs of resilience in household spending and sentiment.
“The new 15 percent US tariffs imposed on NZ goods are expected to weigh slightly on the country’s economic recovery, but the full impact remains to be watched. Meanwhile, with a further 25bp cut to the OCR in August and an additional 50bp signalled by the RBNZ, we expect improvements are on the horizon, even if the pace is slower than initially projected.”
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