Economic Weekly: A rollercoaster ride
- There were two major developments last week: The New Zealand GDP figure out for Q1 and the release of the policy rate by the US Federal Reserve
- Omicron appeared to affect the NZ economy more than expected in Q1, contributing to the quarterly GDP fall of 0.2% (market expectations were for weak but positive growth)
- Q1 experienced shortages of labour and materials, capacity constraints, wage inflation and higher costs of living, all adding to the already existing inflation and supply chain issues
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Mark Smith
Senior Economist
Mark joined ASB in 2017, with over 20 years of public and private sector experience working as an economist in New Zealand and the UK.
His resume includes lengthy stints at ANZ and the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, and he has also worked at the Bank of England, HM Treasury and the New Zealand Transport Agency. Mark's areas of specialisation include interest rate strategy, macro-economic analysis and urban economics.
Born and bred in the Waikato, Mark studied at Waikato University where he graduated with a Master of Social Sciences, majoring in Economics.
Mark's key strengths are the ability to use his extensive experience, inquisitive nature, analytical ability, creativity and pragmatism to dig a little deeper and to deliver common sense solutions to tackle complex problems.
When not at work Mark likes to travel, keep fit and spend time with his friends and family.
- Email: Mark
