New Zealand business confidence stabilized in the three-month period to December, as optimism, activity, hiring and a slew of other indicators rebounded after easing in the previous six months, the results of the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research's Quarterly Survey of Business Opinion showed Tuesday.
Business confidence of firms remained strong, with a net 21 percent remaining optimistic in the fourth quarter. However, optimism eased from the heady highs of late 2013 and early 2014.
The survey showed that merchants were more confident in the three months ended in December, while optimism among builders, manufacturers and services firms weakened.
A majority of firms reported that strengthened capacity pressures blocked their activity growth during the fourth quarter. Manufacturers and construction firms reported shrinking spare capacity, but building materials companies report increasing capacity.
Despite of intensifying capacity pressures, inflationary pressures were subdued. Cost pressures eased in the December quarter and are expected to remain low in the coming quarter, the quarterly survey said.
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