New Zealand ANZ Business Confidence dropped to -44.3 in July, down from -38.1. That’s also the worst reading sine August 2018. Among the sectors, agriculture scored worse at -78.5 while retail was best at -30.4. Activity Outlook Index dropped to 5.0, down from 8.0. Construction outlook was worst at -33.3 while services was best at 11.2.
ANZ noted: “The outlook for the economy is deteriorating. Despite generally good commodity prices and interest rates at record lows, the headwinds of a global slowdown and credit and cost constraints appear to be winning out. With the inflation outlook not consistent with the target midpoint we expect two more OCR cuts this year, helping the economy to find its feet once more.”
