ANZ’s business confidence survey showed headline confidence appear to halt its year-long decline yesterday, ticking up 12 points in September, although a net 38 percent of firms still have a negative economic outlook.
Firms’ outlook for their own activity, which correlates far better with economic growth, also rose. It was up 4 points with a net 8 percent of firms expecting their own activity to improve over the next year.
Finance Minister Grant Robertson was pleased with the results, but cautious - saying it was just one survey and he would “wait and see if a trend emerges”.
Trade Minister David Parker has previously labelled the surveys “junk”, and Robertson has noted that GDP has a greater correlation to points scored in Crusaders rugby games than the ANZ Business Outlook survey of headline confidence. Continue to read . . . .
