NZ data - Truckometer (January): -4.3% m/m (prior +2.6%)

ANZ Truckometer from New Zealand down 4.3% m/m

• Prior revised from +2.6% to 2.8%

That's the 'heavy' vehicle index

For the 'light' vehicle index - down 1.4% m/m

Key points from ANZ:

• The Heavy Traffic Index suggests that GDP growth in 2015 Q4 could be well north of 1% q/q but the January data provides an early hint that we may well see some recoil in Q1
• The Light Traffic Index still has a strong upward trend, suggesting good momentum in the economy as we kick off the coming year
• We are assuming the falls in the two traffic indexes are primarily monthly volatility... Nonetheless, we can't be complacent; traffic volumes provide real-time economic signals
• Global financial market gyrations highlight the fact that the main risks to economic growth emanate from offshore.

-

This is a measure of traffic flows in NZ. ANZ says Traffic flows are a real time and real-world proxy for economic activity - particularly for the New Zealand economy, where a large proportion of freight is moved by road.