Moody's affirms New Zealand's AAA rating, maintains Stable outlook

Moody's Investors Service affirmed New Zealand's sovereign rating at ‘AAA’ while maintaining a ‘Stable’ outlook.

The global ratings agency expects solid growth of 3.0% in 2022 as the economy continues to recover from Covid, even as the fiscal and monetary policy begin to normalize in the face of domestic and external inflationary pressures.

Key findings

“New Zealand's economy to remain resilient, despite its vulnerability to shocks as a small, open and commodities-based economy.”

“The economy's resilience reflects the economy's trade openness, highly competitive agricultural export base, flexible labor and product markets, high wealth levels, and the benefits of its ongoing net migration program.”

“These attributes support New Zealand's medium-term growth potential of around 2.5-3.0%, a level higher than many advanced economy Aaa-rated peers.”