New Zealand: Business sentiment improves further in August
The ANZ bank business outlook indicator rose in August. A net 3.7% of firms reported that they expect general business conditions to worsen in the year ahead, improving from a net 13.1% of firms expecting bleaker general business conditions in the year ahead in July. As a result, the headline remained entrenched below the net-0% threshold that separates pessimism from optimism among businesses.
Businesses grew less downbeat with regards to profit expectations and investment intentions. Moreover, inflation expectations moderated, while employment intentions turned positive.
Meanwhile, firms’ outlooks regarding their own activity—a metric which has a stronger correlation to GDP growth—rose to a net 11.2% in August from a net 0.8% in July.