Data due out this week includes the current account deficit and December quarter national accounts tomorrow then on Thursday the fourth quarter to December GDP from Statistics New Zealand.
Results of the latest fortnightly global dairy trade auction will be known tomorrow.
In a preview of the data, Westpac senior economist Michael Gordon said New Zealand's economy had regained some momentum after a slowdown in the first half of 2015, but in per-capita terms, the pace of growth was well off its peak.
‘‘We expect the current account deficit to remain at 3.3% of GDP, with a weaker trade balance offset by a smaller investment income deficit,'' he said.
Mr Gordon expects to see a 0.7% increase in the production measure of GDP, with the goods-producing sectors shaping up as the strongest performers this time.
‘‘The manufacturing survey [last] week showed a pullback in food manufacturing after a very strong September quarter, but solid gains across the non-food categories,'' he said.
Construction is also expected to have had a strong quarter, with Mr Gordon expecting a 2% gain.
ASB senior economist Jane Turner was expecting a ‘‘slightly underwhelming finish to 2015''.
‘‘We expect fourth quarter GDP growth of 0.6%, roughly around trend pace and close to Reserve Bank expectations,'' she said.
Momentum in trend growth softened during 2015, but should recover over 2016 on the back of interest rate cuts, Mrs Turner said.
She expects annual growth of just 2%, on par with population growth, and annual average growth slowing to 2.4% - down from a peak of 3.7% in December 2014.
For the fourth quarter, Mrs Turner expects the goods sector should record solid growth, due to strength in construction and transport.
She said construction activity was picking up throughout most of the country, helping offset the modest declines in Canterbury construction activity as the rebuild moves past its peak.
Mr Gordon said there were other positives expected from the GDP data, with retailing having another strong quarter, particularly in the hospitality sector.
Oil extraction appeared to have boosted the mining sector, counteracting the likely weakness in exploration activity.
‘‘And we expect a modest lift in agricultural output, mainly due to a (seasonally adjusted) rise in milk production, relative to the poor start to the season during the September quarter,'' he said.
‘‘We expect business services, which have been the dominant contributor to growth over the last few years, to be relatively soft this quarter,'' Mr Gordon said.
In particular, he expects a fall in real estate services, with house sales falling sharply after new regulations on property investment came into force last October.
Mr Gordon said the goods trade balance slid further into deficit in the December quarter, as lower dairy export earnings were only partly offset by a drop in petroleum import prices.
However, unlike in previous quarters, the downturn in goods trade was not offset by an improvement in the services balance.
He noted overseas visitor spending appeared to have fallen during the December quarter, despite a record number of arrivals.
