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Economic Weekly: Dodging the Kraken and Beermageddon

  • Economically, 2023 will bring a bit of rain on growth, but should also see inflation pressures dampen later in the year
  • Late last year we put out our latest Quarterly Forecasts. With the Official Cash Rate set to hit upwards of 5.5% in coming months amidst a weaker global economy, we expect the NZ economy to contract around 1% by the end of this year
  • A lot of the slowdown will be concentrated in consumer spending and construction

Contact us

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.