The New Zealand dollar rallied sharply after Statistics NZ said the local economy grew by a surprisingly strong 1.1 per cent in the March quarter.
The gain in gross domestic product (GDP) in the quarter was more than double market expectations of 0.5 per cent growth and well ahead of the Reserve Bank's forecast of 0.4 per cent.
For the year ended March, economic activity was up 1.7 per cent, which was also ahead of expectations.
"What we can take from it is that the upturn in economic activity is with us," Westpac chief economist Dominick Stephens told APNZ.
Statistics NZ said the quarter showed that growth was spread across a number of industries, while in previous quarters the industry picture had been more mixed, with growth in some industries offset by falls in others.