2019.11.2803:45:00UTC+00New Zealand Business Confidence Highest This Year

New Zealand business confidence reached its strongest level this year in November but firms still expect general business conditions to deteriorate in the year ahead, business outlook survey data from ANZ showed Thursday.

The headline business sentiment index surged 16 points to a net 26 percent in November. Likewise, firms' expectations for their own activity rose 17 points to +13. This was also the strongest level in 2019.

The survey showed that employment intentions advanced 12 points and profit expectations surged 16 points in November, while export intentions gained only one point.

A net 45 percent of firms expect higher costs, the lowest since the survey started asking the question in April. Pricing intentions were unchanged with a net 24 percent of firms expecting to raise prices.

The significant easing in both interest rates and the exchange rate is clearly working its way through the economy, and the remarkable resilience of New Zealand's commodity prices is providing an invaluable buffer to the world's woes, ANZ chief economist Sharon Zollner said.