New Zealand's gross domestic product climbed 0.5 percent on quarter in the first three months of 2017, Statistics New Zealand said on Thursday.
That was shy of expectations for a gain of 0.7 percent but was up from the 0.4 percent increase in the three months prior.
"Much lower building activity combined with mixed results for the service sector took the shine off higher dairy production and saw a second quarter of moderate overall GDP growth," national accounts senior manager Gary Dunnet said.
Agriculture was up 4.3 percent, driven by higher milk production. This was the highest quarterly growth for agriculture since September 2014.
Retail trade and accommodation was up 1.8 percent, driven by an increase in motor vehicles and parts.
Manufacturing was up 1.0 percent, with transport equipment, machinery and equipment manufacturing being the largest contributor.
Construction was down 2.1 percent, with all construction industries decreasing. This was the first fall since June 2015.
Transport, postal, and warehousing was down 2.0 percent, in part due to lower transport support services.
Expenditure on gross domestic product gained 0.2 percent in the first quarter.
Household consumption expenditure was up 1.3 percent, driven by spending on durable goods and services.
Investment in fixed assets was up 1.2 percent, due to increased investment in plant, machinery and equipment.
Inventories added NZ$338 million, due to distribution inventories.
Exports of goods and services fell 0.4 percent, due to exports of dairy products.
Imports of goods and services lost 1.3 percent, in part due to imports of consumption goods and passenger cars.
On a yearly basis, GDP climbed 2.5 percent - again missing forecasts for 2.7 percent, which would have been unchanged.
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