By Brian Fallow
WELLINGTON - Businesses are more confident of their own prospects than those of the general economy in the National Bank's September survey of business sentiment.
For the seventh month in a row, the margin narrowed between those who expect general business conditions to improve over the next 12 months
and those who think it will get worse, though it remains in positive territory by a net 17 per cent.
But when asked about their own businesses, 38 per cent of respondents expected activity to pick up in the coming year. It has been around that level for the past four months.
National Bank chief economist Brendan O'Donovan said the own-activity indicator was less volatile than general business confidence, as it was less influenced by the vagaries of politics.
Its current level was high, he said, which suggested prospects for the economy were good.
The bank's forecast is that the economy will grow around 3 per cent this year and 4 per cent next year.
Manufacturing firms were the most positive about their outlook, followed by retailers and service industry firms.
