New Zealand ANZ business confidence rises in December on upbeat economic outlook, higher profit expectations

New Zealand business confidence rose during the month of December, following upbeat economic and business outlook and higher profit expectations in the near term. Also, firms’ own activity expectations are festive and hiring and investment expectations are strong. All these signal a continuation of strong growth ahead.

New Zealand’s ANZ business confidence rose 1 point in December, with a net 22 percent of businesses optimistic about the year ahead. A net 40 percent of businesses expect better times for their own business with positivity across all the five major sectors.

Further, construction sector activity expectations are poles ahead of the others, sitting at a celebratory net 63 percent. Investment intentions rose to +25, the highest reading since June 2014, while employment intentions are not only strong, but also continue to edge higher. A net +26 are looking to welcome new staff.

Profit expectations were a cracker at +31 and export intentions were unchanged at +23. Residential construction intentions eased from +35 to +29 (a marginal tweak from strong levels) while commercial construction intentions lifted from +26 to +46. Firms’ pricing intentions rose from +21 to +26, the highest since early 2015. Inflation expectations rose from 1.5 percent to 1.6 percent.

Meanwhile, NZD/USD traded at 0.69, up 0.33 percent, while at 6:00GMT, the FxWirePro's Hourly NZD Strength Index remained highly bearish at -155.12 (a reading above +75 indicates a bullish trend, while that below -75 a bearish trend). For more details, visit http://www.fxwirepro.com/currencyindex