21.12.201421:16:00UTC+00New Zealand Consumer Confidence Falls In Q4

New Zealand consumer confidence declined in the fourth quarter of 2014, the results of a survey by Westpac and McDermottMiller showed Monday.

The Westpac McDermott Miller consumer confidence index dropped to 114.8 in the fourth quarter from 116.7 in the third quarter. This marked the lowest reading in over a year.

A reading above 100 indicates more optimists than pessimists.

"For the time being, falling petrol prices and lower mortgage rates appear not to have registered as a positive in consumers' minds," Westpac chief economist Dominick Stephens said.

"Even in the main cities consumer confidence remained steady, rather than rising."

The present conditions index, measuring the outlook on current conditions, fell to 111.4 from 113 in the previous quarter.

The expected conditions index, measuring the outlook for the future, slid to 117.2 in the fourth quarter from 119.3 in the third quarter.