Drought and the Christchurch rebuild are expected to dominate the GDP data out tomorrow, with economic activity expected to have grown by 0.7% in the three months ending in March.
The parched North Island won't see rain for at least a week as hot, dry weather continues to dominate in what has been described as one of the worst droughts since the 1940s.
Otago may have been declared to be in drought in early April but by the end of the month some towns in the region had received their first significant rainfall in nearly a year.
It took two or three successive dry years to make the current drought, so it will take more than one significant rainfall to ease the situation - that was the message yesterday from Central Otago farmers.
New Zealand farmers will have less to sell than usual this autumn as several regions slide into drought, creating a "weak tail" to the main primary production season, says a leading rural bank.
The author behind a new study linking 30-year drought in Western Australia with heavy snowfall in Antarctica says it is strong evidence man-made greenhouse gases have provoked dramatic climate change.