WELLINGTON (Reuters) - Consumer confidence in New Zealand surged in January, breaking a three-month run of declines, with the mood about current conditions the brightest since 2007, a survey showed on Friday.
The ANZ-Roy Morgan consumer confidence index rose to 126.9 in January from 121.8 the month before. A reading above 100 means optimists outnumber pessimists.
A measure of how respondents felt about current economic conditions jumped 8.1 points to 131.3, its highest level since 2007. The future conditions index lifted 3.0 points to 124.0.
"The labour market is strong and the outlook for household incomes is solid, so it is hard to argue the optimism is unwarranted," said ANZ chief economist Sharon Zollner.
There had also been some political uncertainty about the newly installed Labour government which seemed to have faded.
A net 16 percent of respondents felt financially better off than a year ago, while 29 percent expected to be better off financially in a year's time.
In a positive omen for retailers, a net 47 percent said it was a good time to buy a major household item, up 15 points.
National house price expectations lifted to 2.9 percent, from 2.4 percent, and were strongest in Wellington. Inflation expectations continued to oscillate in a 3-4 percent range.
(Reporting by Charlotte Greenfield; Editing by Shri Navaratnam and Hugh Lawson)
