Gross domestic product (GDP) rose 1.5 percent in the December 2012 quarter, the strongest quarterly growth since December 2009, Statistics New Zealand said today. "Fifteen of the 16 industries recorded increases in the last three months of 2012, reflecting the broad-based nature of growth in this quarter," national accounts manager Rachael Milicich said. The industries with the largest contributions to growth were: agriculture, forestry, and fishing (up 2.6 percent), mainly due to the largest quarterly increase in forestry and logging activity in 13 years retail trade and accommodation (up 2.3 percent), due to the ... (full story)