Consumer confidence holds up despite overseas gloom
The mood of the New Zealand consumer remains upbeat, suvey finds.
The mood of the New Zealand consumer remains upbeat despite the wave of offshore economic gloom.
The latest ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence survey fell slightly over the past month but remains positive, with the index slipping slightly from 112.6 to 112.2.
The expectations of future conditions part of the index also recorded a small fall, from 117.5 to 117.2.
“In general terms, consumer confidence has been flat-lining since the middle of the year,” ANZ Bank chief economist Cameron Bagrie said.
There is a small seasonal element to the index, he said, and if this is taken into account there has been a steady fall of 9% since June.
“This raises a potential red flag, but given the global backdrop and the volatility confidence surveys can exhibit from month to month, we are wary of reading too much into it.”
Under the weight of economic bad news, he said, a greater drop would have been expected.
“While consumers’ perception of current conditions is above the key 100 mark, and has been for four months, the absolute level suggests continuing caution. Things are certainly better than in the early part of the year, but not sufficiently for wallets to be opened en masse.”
Rob Hosking
Fri, 14 Oct 2011
Fri, 14 Oct 2011
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Consumer confidence holds up despite overseas gloom
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