New Zealand business sentiment improved slightly in June over the previous month, although firms continued to be pessimistic even after the country lifted its coronavirus lockdown, an ANZ bank survey showed on Tuesday.
The survey's headline measure showed a net 34.4% of respondents expected the economy to deteriorate over the year ahead. That compared with a 41.8% pessimism level in the previous poll in May.
The survey also showed a net 25.9% of respondents expected weaker activity for their business in the next 12 months, versus 29.1% who had expected softer conditions at the end of last month.
Employment intentions show nearly 50% of firms intend to cut staff, ANZ said in the report.
(Reporting by Renju Jose; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)
