New Zealand business confidence falls in March

[WELLINGTON] New Zealand business sentiment fell in March led by concerns about the agriculture industry, an ANZ Bank survey showed on Thursday.

The survey's headline measure showed a net 3.2 per cent of respondents expected the economy to improve over the year ahead. It compared with a 7.1 per cent optimism level in the previous poll.

A net 29.4 per cent of respondents expected their own businesses to grow in the next 12 months, from 25.5 per cent last month.

Inflation expectations decreased to 1.38 per cent compared with 1.39 per cent in the previous survey.

REUTERS