New Zealand firms turn more optimistic in July: ANZ survey

[SYDNEY] New Zealand business confidence jumped in July as inflation expectations eased and companies turned more optimistic, with key metrics reaching historically solid levels, an ANZ Bank survey showed on Thursday (Jul 30)

A net 56.1 per cent of respondents expected the economy to improve over the year ahead, up from 36.6 per cent in June, while 49.3 per cent expected their own activity to grow, up from 36.9 per cent in June. However, sentiment soured toward the end of the month as oil prices turned volatile.

“It feels like we need a weekly business confidence survey at the moment. Oil prices continue to leap and plummet as the headlines roll in,” ANZ said in the survey. BLOOMBERG