NZ: Business sentiment improved in the December quarter – ANZ

Liz Kendall, senior economist at ANZ, points out that business sentiment of New Zealand economy improved in the December quarter, according to NZIER's Quarterly Survey of Business Opinion.

Key Quotes

“Headline views on the general business situation improved 10%pts, with a net 18% (sa) feeling pessimistic in Q4, consistent with the bounce in our ANZ Business Outlook Survey.”

“Businesses are pessimistic, with the economic cycle looking tired.”

“Experienced activity, which tends to be a good barometer of GDP growth, perked up a little in the quarter, but at face value is consistent with soft annual growth of 2-2½% in the short term.”

“Today’s data are consistent with our view that the economy is not performing well enough to achieve a durable lift in inflation. We see the RBNZ cutting the OCR late this year to give the economy a pick-me-up.”