SYDNEY (Reuters) – New Zealand’s business confidence jumped in August to the highest level in a decade as forward-looking activity indicators rose strongly, an ANZ Bank survey showed on Thursday.
The survey’s headline measure showed a net 50.6% of respondents expected the economy to improve over the year ahead, versus a 27.1% optimism level in the previous poll in July.
A net 37.1% of respondents expected their own businesses to grow in the next 12 months, a seven-year high, versus 16.3% last month.
“Things are looking up, albeit from a pretty dark place for many firms,” ANZ Chief Economist Sharon Zollner said in a statement.
(Reporting by Renju Jose in Sydney; Editing by Christopher Cushing)
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