New Zealand Business Confidence Hits 30-Year High as Economic Outlook Improves

New Zealand’s business confidence surged sharply in December, reaching its highest level in three decades, according to the latest ANZ Bank Business Outlook survey released on Friday. The data highlights growing optimism across the economy, with forward-looking activity indicators continuing to strengthen and several measures climbing to multi-decade highs.

The survey showed that a net 73.6% of respondents expect the New Zealand economy to improve over the coming year, a significant increase of nearly seven percentage points from November’s 67.1%. Confidence at the individual business level also rose notably, with 60.9% of firms expecting their own businesses to grow, up from 53.1% in the previous month. These figures reflect broad-based optimism across sectors and signal a strengthening economic recovery heading into the new year.

Past activity and employment indicators also continued to improve, reinforcing the positive outlook. Businesses reported stronger recent performance, and hiring conditions showed ongoing momentum, suggesting that economic growth is translating into real-world activity. This combination of improving sentiment and solid underlying indicators points to increased resilience in the New Zealand economy.

ANZ Chief Economist Sharon Zollner said the data clearly indicates an upswing in conditions. She noted that both historical performance and future expectations are moving in the right direction, helping to lift overall business sentiment. According to Zollner, optimism about the future is building as businesses see tangible improvements in demand and employment.

However, she cautioned that tighter financial conditions could pose some challenges. Higher interest rates and restrictive monetary policy may slow the pace of recovery slightly, even though borrowing costs and the exchange rate remain well below their previous peaks. Despite these headwinds, the survey suggests that confidence remains robust enough to support continued economic expansion.

Overall, the ANZ survey underscores a marked improvement in New Zealand’s business confidence, positioning the country for a potentially stronger growth phase in 2025. With optimism at its highest level in 30 years, businesses appear increasingly prepared to invest, hire, and expand as economic conditions continue to stabilize.