New Zealand: Business confidence remains steady in November
The ANZ Bank Business Outlook indicator showed that a net 37.1% of surveyed firms were pessimistic over general business conditions in the year ahead in November, unchanged from October. As a result, the indicator remained below the net-0% threshold that separates pessimism from optimism among firms. Improved sentiment in retail and agriculture was offset by a deterioration in confidence in the manufacturing, construction and services sectors compared to October.
Meanwhile, firms’ positive outlook regarding their own activity—a metric which has a stronger correlation to GDP growth—ticked up from 7.4 points in October to 7.6 points in November. Although firms’ intentions to undertake investment softened in the surveyed month, their profit expectations and intentions to hire additional workers improved from the previous month. Nevertheless, a sizeable number of firms still foresee credit difficulties ahead.