New Zealand manufacturing sales and home building swelled in the fourth quarter of last year, showing signs of economic growth.

In Wellington, Statistics New Zealand said that residential construction rose 7.4% in the same period.

Philip Borkin, an Economist at Goldman Sachs JBWere Ltd. in Auckland said, "Construction and manufacturing look set to provide a positive contribution to gross domestic product in the quarter".

According to him, the economy grew 1% in the three months that ended Dec. 31.

After GDP increased 0.2%, both in the second and third quarters of 2009, economic growth started escalating, putting an end to the nation's financial crisis.

According to a report on Feb. 12, retail sales rose 1% in the fourth quarter.

The statistics agency said that manufacturing sales soared 4.1%, while 11 of 15 industries witnessed profits.

Growth in exports was 0.9% in the last quarter.

Jane Turner, an Economist at ASB Bank Ltd. in Auckland, said, "We expect residential construction activity will continue to recover over the coming quarters. Non residential was significantly weaker than our expectation".