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Reuters
30-06-2025
- Business
- Reuters
New Zealand second-quarter business confidence improves, think tank says
WELLINGTON, July 1 (Reuters) - New Zealand's business confidence improved in the second quarter, a private think tank said on Tuesday, amid indications that inflationary pressures were easing. A net 22% of firms surveyed expected general business conditions to improve compared with 19% optimism in the previous quarter, the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research's (NZIER) quarterly survey of business opinion showed. "We continue to see the divergence between firms experiencing weak demand and firms expecting a recovery in demand," NZIER said in its report. "Although the sharp interest rate cuts since August last year have boosted confidence, the effects of lower interest rates remain slow to flow through to a lift in real activity," it said. On a seasonally adjusted basis, 27% expected business conditions to improve versus 23% optimism recorded in the previous period. The survey's measure of capacity utilisation fell to 89.4%, from the previous quarter's 90.5%. The survey noted that cost and pricing indicators suggest an easing in inflationary pressures in the June quarter with a net 1% of firms reporting they had reduced prices in the June quarter. In the previous quarter, a net 8% of firms had raised prices. "These indicators suggest that inflation will be contained in the near term," Christina Leung, Principal Economist at NZIER said at a press conference. She added these results suggest downside risk to the think tank's forecast that inflation will be at 2.4% in the second quarter. This should be good news for New Zealand's central bank, which has cut the cash rate by 225 basis points since last August as inflation has come back within its target band of 1% and 3%. It has signalled that it will cut the rate at least once more in 2025. Leung said overall, the results paved the way for another 25-basis point official cash rate cut in this cycle.
Yahoo
30-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
New Zealand second-quarter business confidence improves, think tank says
By Lucy Craymer WELLINGTON (Reuters) -New Zealand's business confidence improved in the second quarter, a private think tank said on Tuesday, amid indications that inflationary pressures were easing. A net 22% of firms surveyed expected general business conditions to improve compared with 19% optimism in the previous quarter, the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research's (NZIER) quarterly survey of business opinion showed. "We continue to see the divergence between firms experiencing weak demand and firms expecting a recovery in demand," NZIER said in its report. "Although the sharp interest rate cuts since August last year have boosted confidence, the effects of lower interest rates remain slow to flow through to a lift in real activity," it said. On a seasonally adjusted basis, 27% expected business conditions to improve versus 23% optimism recorded in the previous period. The survey's measure of capacity utilisation fell to 89.4%, from the previous quarter's 90.5%. The survey noted that cost and pricing indicators suggest an easing in inflationary pressures in the June quarter with a net 1% of firms reporting they had reduced prices in the June quarter. In the previous quarter, a net 8% of firms had raised prices. "These indicators suggest that inflation will be contained in the near term," Christina Leung, Principal Economist at NZIER said at a press conference. She added these results suggest downside risk to the think tank's forecast that inflation will be at 2.4% in the second quarter. This should be good news for New Zealand's central bank, which has cut the cash rate by 225 basis points since last August as inflation has come back within its target band of 1% and 3%. It has signalled that it will cut the rate at least once more in 2025. Leung said overall, the results paved the way for another 25-basis point official cash rate cut in this cycle.
Reuters
02-06-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Russian manufacturing sector returns to growth in May, PMI shows
June 2 (Reuters) - Russia's manufacturing sector returned to growth in May, supported by a fresh upturn in new orders, even as output contracted for the third month running amid reports of supply shortages, a business survey showed on Monday. The S&P Global Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for Russia's manufacturing sector rose to 50.2 last month from 49.3 in April, moving back above the 50 mark that indicates growth after two months of decline. New orders saw a marginal increase, marking the fastest growth rate since the start of the year, driven by stronger client demand and new customer acquisitions, the survey showed. Despite this, foreign client demand remained weak, with new export orders declining for the third consecutive month. Russia's significant spending on military equipment and weapons since invading Ukraine in February 2022 has buoyed a manufacturing sector that otherwise may have suffered as some countries shunned Moscow. Industrial output growth has started slowing in the past year, federal data shows. Russian manufacturers expanded their workforce numbers slightly, attributed to a need to broaden capacity. Backlogs of work decreased for the fourth month in a row, but at the slowest pace in this sequence. Manufacturers expressed optimism about the outlook for output over the coming year. "Optimism among companies reportedly stemmed from investment in production processes and product ranges, alongside hopes of strengthening demand conditions," S&P Global said.
Zawya
22-05-2025
- Business
- Zawya
UK factory woes deepen in May as new orders ebb, CBI survey shows
British manufacturers suffered a sharp contraction in orders and output this month, the Confederation of British Industry said, chiming with another closely-watched business survey published earlier on Thursday. The CBI's monthly balance for manufacturing new orders fell in May to -30 from -26 in April, the weakest reading since January. The report followed on the heels of S&P Global's survey of the manufacturing sector, which showed a severe downturn marked by the fastest pace of job cutting since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic five years ago. The CBI's gauge of output for the past three months fell in May to match December's reading, which had been the lowest since August 2020. "Sentiment among UK manufacturers seems poor, reflecting a combination of rising domestic business costs and US tariff uncertainty," said Ben Jones, lead economist at the CBI. Businesses are facing pressure from high energy costs, rising labour costs and the threat of extra regulation with the government's Employment Rights Bill coming down the track, Jones added. The survey's gauge of exports picked up in May after Britain signed an accord with the United States to lessen President Donald Trump's tariffs and remove some trade barriers, although it remained in deeply negative territory. Reports of rising prices among manufacturers increased in May to their highest level in net terms since January, the CBI said. (Reporting Andy Bruce; editing by Suban Abdulla)
Reuters
22-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
UK factory woes deepen in May as new orders ebb, CBI survey shows
LONDON, May 22 (Reuters) - British manufacturers suffered a sharp contraction in orders and output this month, the Confederation of British Industry said, chiming with another closely-watched business survey published earlier on Thursday. The CBI's monthly balance for manufacturing new orders fell in May to -30 from -26 in April, the weakest reading since January. The report followed on the heels of S&P Global's survey of the manufacturing sector, which showed a severe downturn marked by the fastest pace of job cutting since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic five years ago. The CBI's gauge of output for the past three months fell in May to match December's reading, which had been the lowest since August 2020. "Sentiment among UK manufacturers seems poor, reflecting a combination of rising domestic business costs and US tariff uncertainty," said Ben Jones, lead economist at the CBI. Businesses are facing pressure from high energy costs, rising labour costs and the threat of extra regulation with the government's Employment Rights Bill coming down the track, Jones added. The survey's gauge of exports picked up in May after Britain signed an accord with the United States to lessen President Donald Trump's tariffs and remove some trade barriers, although it remained in deeply negative territory. Reports of rising prices among manufacturers increased in May to their highest level in net terms since January, the CBI said.
