NZ business confidence slips from 19-month high as agriculture turns gloomy

Wed, 27 Mar 2013

March 27 (BusinessDesk) - New Zealand business confidence fell from a 19-month high in March as the agricultural sector turned gloomy, seeing falling profits and less employment as drought prevails in the North Island. A net 35 percent of firms expect general business conditions to improve in the year ahead, according to the ANZ Business Outlook, down from 39.4 percent in the February survey. Confidence in Northland, the first region where drought was declared this summer, “literally tanked” though the survey results were mixed in other drou...

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