Confidence barely ticked higher last month, its been very weak indeed, this from ANZ from the previous survey report:
There is no 'expected' for the survey, but if there was it would likely show some glimmer of hope for a better result today given:
- mortgage rates are down
- government spending boost announcements
There are persistent negatives though:
- retail spending growth is lacklustre
- manufacturing also on the weak side
Says ASB:
- Headline business confidence and firms' own activity expectations staged a miniscule recovery in May, after being weak in the early months of 2019. The gain was less than we had expected, with the Government's decision to ditch the capital gains tax looking to have had a very minor impact on sentiment. The ANZ monthly business confidence survey continues to paint a picture of subdued growth of investment, employment and economic activity, declining firm profitability and muted inflation pressure. Weak sentiment maintains the case for additional policy support and we expect the RBNZ to cut the OCR by a further 25bps in August.