wellington new zealandnew zealands economy bounced back in the fourth quarter of last year from a pandemic lockdown but is expected to slow in 2022 as interest rates rise and a surge in home prices cools the south pacific nations economy expanded 30 in the octoberdecember quarter from the previous quarter when it had contracted 36 statistics new zealand said thursday the figures showed that household and business spending had largely recovered from a lengthy lockdown in the countrys largest city auckland that was ultimately unsuccessful at stamping out the covid19 delta variant the median forecast in a wall street journal poll of eight economists was for growth of 36 in the octoberdecember quarter growth for all of 2021 was 56 itself a bounce back from pandemic disruption in 2020 economists say economic growth could slow to about 20 in 2022 as the central bank continues to raise interest rates in response to decadeshigh inflation