New Zealand: Consumer confidence increases in January
The ANZ-Roy Morgan consumer confidence indicator rose to 83.4 in January from 73.8 in December, which had the lowest reading on record. Therefore, the index remained entrenched below the 100-threshold that separates optimism from pessimism among consumers.
In January, households expectations of their financial situation in one year view improved, as did their expectations over the general economic situations in five years view and their willingness to buy big-ticket items.
Commenting on the release, Sharon Zollner, chief economist at ANZ, stated:
“In normal times, a bounce in consumer confidence off extreme lows would be a positive sign for retail activity. However, the backdrop is that any unexpected resilience in demand is likely to be met by higher-than otherwise interest rates, given the RBNZ requires the economy to slow.”