i

Economic Weekly: Flat finish

  • The mix of data out last week unsurprisingly pointed to weak domestic spending, though there were some hints that exporting activity was in reasonable shape
  • With high inflation and both fiscal and current deficits, rebalancing from domestic demand to stronger exports would put NZ on a more sustainable footing
  • It is a challenging global environment in which to do this rebalancing, which is still affecting export prices

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.