New Zealand ANZ Business Confidence Index improved notably from -31.1 to -18.0 in June, marking the highest level since November 2021. Furthermore, the outlook for their own activity rose from -4.5 to 2.7, turning positive for the first time in 14 months.
Digging into the details reveals a more nuanced picture. Despite the improved overall business sentiment, export intentions dipped from 2.0 to -1.8. However, there were more encouraging signs in other areas: investment intentions rose from -6.8 to -2.7, and employment intentions followed suit, moving from -5.7 to -3.5. Meanwhile, pricing intentions have shown a modest decline from 52.4 to 49.3.
On the inflation front, there are tentative signs that pressures might be easing slightly. Cost expectations dropped from 84.1 to 76.0, and inflation expectations decreased from 5.47% to 5.29%. There was also a slight improvement in profit expectations, which rose from -27.4 to -24.1.
Commenting on the results, ANZ noted, “for now, cautious optimism appears to be emerging that the worst could be past – but it’s conditional on those inflation indicators continuing to fall.”
