18 Apr 2023

Economic downturn 'not going to be an easy ride' - Brad Olsen

From Midday Report, 12:11 pm on 18 April 2023

Worry is mounting the economy's heading for a harsh landing.

Last year, amid stubbornly rising inflation the Reserve Bank told us it was engineering a minor recession through swift official cash rate rises.

It said too many people were employed and predicted the economy would shrink by 1 percent this year, before returning to growth by the end of 2024.

But ASB's economists believe it'll be worse and expect the economy to contract by 2 percent by early next year, while rising living costs will add another $150/ week to household bills.

Infometrics chief executive Brad Olsen spoke to Katie Scotcher/