NZ business sentiment improves, but still pessimistic: survey

[WELLINGTON] New Zealand business sentiment improved in September after five months of falling, but was still pessimistic, an ANZ Bank survey showed on Wednesday.

The survey's headline measure showed a net 18.9 per cent of respondents expected the economy to deteriorate over the year ahead, led by concerns over the dairy sector. It compared with a 29.1 per cent pessimism level in the previous poll.

A net 16.7 per cent of respondents expected their own businesses to grow in the next 12 months, from 12.2 per cent last month.

Inflation expectations were steady at 1.69 per cent.

REUTERS