SYDNEY, Dec 19 (Reuters) – New Zealand’s business confidence surged in December to hit its highest level in 30 years, with forward-looking activity indicators lifting again with some reaching multi-decade highs, an ANZ Bank survey showed on Friday.
A net 73.6% of respondents expected the economy to improve over the year ahead, up almost 7 points, versus a 67.1% optimism level in November, while 60.9% expected their own businesses to grow, versus 53.1%.
“Things are clearly looking up. Both past activity and past employment continue to strengthen, and sentiment about the future is improving as a result,” ANZ Chief Economist Sharon Zollner said in a statement.
“Tighter financial conditions could take a little wind out of the recovery’s sails, but both interest rates and the exchange rate remain well off their peaks.”
(Reporting by Renju Jose in Sydney; Editing by Himani Sarkar)
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