News: UPDATE 1-New Zealand GDP slows to 0.6 percent in Q3, but beats expectations

• NZ posts Q3 GDP of 0.6 pct
• Beats analysts' forecasts of 0.5 pct
• NZ dlr rises 0.4 pct

(New throughout, adds market reaction)

WELLINGTON, Dec 21 (Reuters) - New Zealand gross domestic product surpassed expectations as construction activity soared in the third quarter, but grew at a slower rate than the previous quarter, official data showed on Thursday.

The New Zealand dollar jumped 0.5 percent to 0.7012 after the announcement.

Quaterly GDP rose 0.6 percent, figures from Statistics New Zealand showed. That was better than economists' forecasts of 0.5 percent but slower than the 0.8 percent hit the previous quarter.

The better-than-expected result was largely due to a rebound in construction activity which grew 3.6 percent, unwinding two quarters of falls as investment poured into rails, road and other infrastructure.

Growth was dented by dairy production, which had been hampered by wet weather and lower global prices.

Annual growth was 2.7 percent, ahead of the 2.3 percent forecast by economists.

That suggested growth could fall short of the government's upbeat forecasts of 3.3 percent growth in the year to June 2018.

"I think, it will be safe to say, even with those new numbers we will be forecasting a sub 3 percent," said Stephen Topis, chief economist at BNZ Bank.