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'Mixed Measures in March'
The ANZ-Roy Morgan New Zealand Consumer Confidence measure slipped nearly 2 points in March. Despite this fall, the overall level remains positive, with the March quarter average 4 points higher than the preceding December quarter. The March figure is the lowest recorded thus year, but it remains the fourth highest level to be measured during the recent rebound. Households are more optimistic about the current situation and less optimistic about the future prospects. Consumers viewed the current situation more favourably but discounted the forward looking questions. The proportion of respondents that thought they were better off now compared to a year ago increased 4 points. A net 20 percent of consumers thought it was a good time to buy a major household appliance, up 6 points from a month ago. The 12 month outlook is less certain. The largest drop in forward looking questions was measured in expectations about the economy in general in 12 months time. This index figure dropped 9 points to 120. Future conditions ease from a record high. The future conditions index has retraced from last month’s record high. The largest reduction in future conditions was measured in the 18-24 age group, which dropped 15 points to 147.3. Intriguingly, the 25-34 age group was the only cohort to record an increase in future conditions lifting 4 points to 153.1. This lift reflected a rise in confidence over the next five years, to an all time high for the survey (a net 64 percent). Click here to view the full March ANZ-Roy Morgan New Zealand Consumer Confidence Rating PDF(121.8, down 1.8pts) |
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