New Zealand ANZ Business Confidence deteriorated again in June and dropped to -39.0, down from -27.2. The Own Activity index also dropped from 14 to 9. ANZ noted in the release that the GDP growth growth indicator remained expansionary but “the economy may continue gently losing steam over coming months, despite the support coming from fiscal stimulus and high commodity prices.”
And, “tailwinds in the form of fiscal stimulus and strong terms of trade will see the economy continue to grow at about par. However, cost, credit and capacity headwinds have strengthened, and firms have noticed.”
New Zealand trade surplus widened to NZD 294m in May, beat expectation of NZD 100m. Goods exports rose 10% to NZD 5.4B, hitting a new high for total exports in a May month, and the second largest for any month. Goods imports rose 5.7% to 5.1B, also a new high for total imports in a May month.
