Consumer confidence in New Zealand increased to the highest level in three years in May as households turned more upbeat about the near-term outlook of the economy, data from a survey by ANZ and Roy Morgan showed Friday.
The headline consumer confidence index increased by 4.5 points from the previous month to 123.7 points in May, indicating that consumers felt far better off financially than earlier. The latest reading was the highest in around three years. An index reading above 100 points to optimism, while one below suggests pessimism.
According to the bank, the increase in confidence was likely driven by the improvement in the employment market and strong house prices.
The sub-indicator that measures households' views of the current conditions moved up 4 points sequentially to 123 in April, hitting the highest level since December 2007.
At the same time, the measure of consumers' expectations for future conditions advanced by 5 pints to 124 during the month, the survey showed.
For comments and feedback: editorial@rttnews.com