Westpac's weekly NZ economic commentary piece says the country faces an unavoidable recession.
- Over the past week the Covid-19 situation has escalated dramatically
- sharp recession that will last as long as the virus remains disruptive
- New Zealand's strong banking system and Government balance sheet should be enough to prevent it from snowballing into a financial crisis
- In New Zealand's case, all arrivals on international flights are now required to self-isolate for 14 days, and cruise ships are banned until the end of June. This makes a severe recession inevitable.
- The travel restrictions alone are going to knock 2.4% off New Zealand GDP in the June quarter.
It is a longer piece but that's the gist of it.
Earlier today the RBNZ hacked an emergency 75 bps off the cash rate:
