Tony Alexander BNZ Confidence Survey
Business confidence remains strong but fewer people are relaxed about our growing dependence upon China.
A full pdf copy of the Weekly Overview is attached and also loaded here.
Fewer People Relaxed About Our China Relationship
Our feelings of ease about New Zealand’s growing economic dependence upon China have taken a battering this month
following the milk powder scare. Whereas for the previous three months a net 44% of respondents to our survey have each
month said that they are happy about our economic relationship with China, this month that proportion has dropped to a
net 28%. This is still a firmly positive result but the decline provides us with the only evidence of how our thinking
as opposed to the thoughts of Chinese may have changed as a result of the poison milk worries.
Nevertheless, even though we are less sanguine about our relationship with China and parts of the country have been
disturbed by earthquakes, our optimism about where the economy will be in a year’s time remains strong. A net 57% of our
582 respondents are optimistic compared with 59% last month and 56% in July. Confidence is therefore steady at a very
high level.
Do you personally feel happy or unhappy that house prices are rising?
A net 11% of respondents feel happy about house prices riisng.
Are you thinking about borrowing more money for your business in the next three months?
A gross 25% of respondents this month say they are thinking about borrowing more money. This is up from 21% last month
but not out of line with the results for June and July. There is no clear trend change as yet underway in this rough
measure of credit demand from the business sector.
ENDS