New Zealand Business Confidence

Last Release

May 31, 2025

Actual

36.6

Units In

49.3

Frequency

Monthly

Next Release

Jun 30, 2025

Time to Release

30 Days 0 Hours

Highest	Lowest	Average	Date Range	Source
80.9 Feb 1994	-76.4 Dec 1974	2.6 %	1970-2025	ANZ Bank New Zealand

In New Zealand, the business confidence index is designed to provide a snapshot of business opinions regarding the expected future state of their business and economy overall. The survey covers around 700 respondents. The Net index is calculated by subtracting the percentage number of businesses that expect that the economic situation improves from the number that expect decline.

Latest Updates

New Zealand's ANZ Business Outlook Index fell sharply to 36.6 in May 2025 from 49.3 in the previous month, hitting its lowest level since July 2024. It was the third straight month of decline amid mounting concerns over the impact of rising U.S. tariffs. Both forward-looking activity (34.8 vs 47.7 in April) and past activity (5.1 vs 11.3) plunged. Also, export intentions (11.8 vs 12.2), pricing intentions (45.4 vs 49.4), and investment intentions (11.4 vs 17.2) all weakened. Employment intentions plummeted (6.0 vs 18.1), as did profit expectations (11.1 vs 28.5). Cost expectations eased from a 2-1/2-year high (72.8 vs 77.9), and wage pressures fell to their lowest since August 2024 (75.3 vs 81.3). Inflation expectations edged up slightly (2.71% vs 2.65%), while credit availability deteriorated (8.6 vs 18.2). Residential construction tumbled (36.4 vs 50.0), though still strong historically, while commercial construction activity slid to an eight-month low (20.6 vs 35.5).