According to the latest figures released, New Zealand's Gross domestic product has risen just 0.3 per cent during the quarter from January to March, 2013 from the previous quarter.

The country's economy had expanded 1.5 per cent in the previous quarter, according to the data released by Statistics New Zealand. The growth of 0.3 per cent is much lower than 0.5 per cent median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey of 11 economists. The economy grew at the rate of 2.4 per cent during the quarter compared to the previous year. Analysts were expecting a growth rate of 2.5 per cent.

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) had said that the impact of drought on milk collection and livestock slaughtering will restrict the growth by 0.5 percentage point in the six months till June. The country had declared a drought across the entire North Island in March and this has affected several industries including dairy farming, impacting the economic growth in the country.

Many expect the economy to grow at a faster rate due to increase in strong rebuilding efforts in Christchurch, which was damaged by an earthquake. This may also convince Reserve Bank Governor Graeme Wheeler to consider increasing interest rates.

New Zealand's dollar fell to 78.66 U. S. cents compared to 78.88 cents earlier.