New Zealand economy faring better than expected

A cluster of numbers suggests the economy may be faring better than expected despite a resurgence of Covid-19 and reimposition of some travel restrictions. ANZ Bank's preliminary look at business confidence for September showed an improvement in sentiment, with companies markedly less pessimistic about the broad outlook for the economy, falling to a net negative 26 percent from 41.8 percent in August. The more closely followed measure of firms' view on their own future improved 8 points, with a net 10 percent expecting conditions to get worse in the next year.