New Zealand: Business confidence falls in March
Latest reading: Business confidence fell to 57.5 in March from February’s 58.4, with firms growing more downbeat about their export, investment and employment intentions. That said, confidence remained at some of the highest levels since the Covid-19 pandemic, likely supported by interest rate cuts and boding well for investment.
Meanwhile, reported past activity—which has the strongest correlation with GDP—rebounded in March but remained weak overall, hinting at sluggish economic growth in Q1, in line with our Consensus.