New Zealand's gross domestic product added 0.2 percent in the third quarter of 2012 compared to the previous three months, Statistics New Zealand said on Thursday.

That missed forecasts for a rise of 0.4 percent following the downwardly revised increase of 0.3 percent in the second quarter (originally 0.6 percent).

Among the individual components, construction was up 4.5 percent due to increases in residential and non-residential building, the bureau said. Manufacturing was down 1.1 percent, due to decreases in metal product - while food and beverage manufacturing agriculture shed 2.8 percent, falling this quarter after higher than usual growth in the first six months of the year, the bureau said.

"The growth in the latest quarter was driven by construction," national accounts manager Rachael Milicich said in a release accompanying the data.

On a yearly basis, GDP was up 2.5 percent - matching forecasts and slowing from 2.6 percent in the previous three months.

The expenditure measure of GDP was up 0.2 percent in Q3, as household consumption expenditure was flat and investment in fixed assets fell 1.8 percent. Increased investment in residential and non-residential buildings was offset by a large decline in investment in plant, machinery, and equipment, the bureau said.

Exports of goods and services were up 4.0 percent, mainly driven by a 27.7 percent increase in the volume of dairy product exports.

The size of the economy was NZ$208 billion for the year ended September 2012.

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