Almost the double dip

The Herald reports:

New Zealand’s economy contracted in the third quarter and growth in the second quarter was revised down to a wafer-thin 0.1 per cent, showing the nation came close to a double-dip recession this year.

Gross domestic product shrank 0.2 per cent in the three months ended September 30, according to Statistics New Zealand, compared to the 0.2 per cent growth predicted in a Reuters survey of economists and the 0.3 per cent forecast from the Reserve Bank. Growth in the second quarter was revised down from 0.2 per cent.

I guess we can all agree now the Reserve Bank hiking interest rates was rather premature!