WELLINGTON, July 28 (Reuters) – New Zealand business sentiment improved slightly in July but remained gloomy amid high inflation, an ANZ bank survey showed on Thursday.
The survey’s headline measure shows that a net 56.7% of respondents expect the economy to slow down in the coming year. That compares with a pessimism rating of 62.6% in the previous poll in June.
ANZ said in the note that businesses were well aware that the Reserve Bank was on a mission to reduce consumer demand in order to curb inflation, so it was no surprise that they were concerned.
A total of 8.7% of respondents expected their own business to shrink in the next 12 months, up slightly from 9.1% previously.
ANZ said they expect economy-wide inflationary pressures to remain strong and 91.3% of business spending.
The rate of spending increases appears to be stable, but very high, the bank added.
He also noted that supply side effects are causing headaches, and severe labor shortages are affecting businesses.
Sign up now for unlimited access to Reuters.com
Reporting by Lucy Kramer; Editing by Richard Pullin
Our standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
