Cullen on business confidence figures
“The latest National Bank outlook showing a modest rebound in both headline confidence and the own activity indicator
suggests that even if the economy does contract in the June quarter, the contraction will be shallow and short,” Finance
Minister Michael Cullen said today.
He was referring to survey results showing a pick-up in investment and hiring intentions. But he said that, while these
and the recent consumer confidence data were encouraging, the evidence still pointed to slow growth in the next two
quarters.
“The proportion of respondents expecting general business conditions to deteriorate may be down on last month but it is
still in solidly negative territory,” he said.