2021.04.0805:53:00UTC+00New Zealand Business Confidence Weakens In April

New Zealand business confidence deteriorated in April, the preliminary ANZ Business Outlook data showed Thursday.

The business confidence index fell to -8.4 in April from -4.1 in March. At the same time, the own activity outlook was unchanged at +16.4 percent.

Employment and investment intentions were unchanged, and export intentions rose slightly, but capacity utilization, the best GDP indicator, fell 3 points.

Expected credit availability also decreased 6 points. The proportion of firms reporting higher employment than a year ago fell 2 points.

Cost and inflation pressures remained intense. Expected costs rose 2 points to a net 75 percent expecting higher costs ahead. A net 53 percent of respondents plan to raise their prices, up 6 points to a fresh record high, the survey showed.