(RTTNews) - Business confidence dipped slightly in October after reaching a ten-year high in September, the latest survey from the National Bank showed Wednesday.

A net 48.2% firms expect general business conditions to improve in the next 12 months, lower than a net 49% in September. Confidence levels improved in the construction sector, but dropped across the manufacturing, services and retail sectors.

Firms own activity expectations decreased slightly, with a net 30.5% anticipating better times in the next one year compared to a net 32.2% last month. Employment intentions turned negative, with a net 0.3% firms expecting a fall in employment over the next one year, in contrast to a 1.8% expecting a rise in September.

However, profit expectations continued to rise, to show the best reading in five years. A net 11.9% expect profits to rise over the next 12 months, up from a net 7.6% last month. Moreover, export intentions rose slightly, with the recovering global demand dominating the higher New Zealand dollar. Further, pricing intentions and interest rate expectations increased.

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Posted in Categories: Economy, New Zealand, Releases.

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