New Zealand: Consumer confidence rises in December
Latest reading: Consumer confidence went up to 101.5 in December, following November’s 98.4. December’s reading was the highest since September 2021.
In December, consumers grew more upbeat about the general economic situation in the next 12 months (-6.2 vs -9.3 in November), the economic outlook 5 years ahead (+10.8 vs +8.8 in November), their willingness to make large purchases (-1.0 vs -9.4 in November) and their personal financial situation over the next 12 months (+22.0 vs +20.8 in November).
Panelist insight: On the data, ANZ analysts said:
“Consumer confidence has finally lifted out of recent ranges to its highest level in four years. That statistic makes it sound strong, but in level terms it isn’t. Consumer confidence took a body blow from the rapid increase in inflation in 2021 and is still recovering. Consumer inflation expectations have followed food price inflation higher over the past year, but did drop along with food price inflation this month. That may well have been a contributing factor to the improvement in confidence, along with generally improving headlines about the state of the economy and the outlook for the year ahead.”