ANZ New Zealand business survey, preliminary for September, business confidence -7 and activity 18

Priors ... Business Confidence -14.2% & Activity Outlook 19.2%

Given New Zealand was plunged into lockdown, a very strict one indeed for its largest city of Auckland this is a good report.

ANZ comment:

• most forward-looking activity indicators hold up well
• Business confidence rose
• own activity expectations were relatively flat
• Employment and investment intentions slipped slightly but remain at solid levels,
• while expected profitability dipped more meaningfully, with a net 13% of firms expecting lower profits

And:

• cost pressures remain extreme, with a net 82.7% of firms reporting higher costs (versus 85% last month).
• Capacity utilisation, which normally correlates pretty well with GDP, was remarkably robust, easing only slightly from 19 to 16%.
• Compared to the same month a year ago, lockdown has of course seen reported activity plummet. But while the 36 point fall is large, it's remarkable that only a net 4% of businesses reported lower activity versus a year ago.