New Zealand confidence index
steady.
by MEDIA CONTACT RESOURCES, INC.
New Zealand consumers are beginning to feel more confidence again
as shown by one of the region's consumer confidence indexes. The
Roy Morgan International market research firm (Melbourne) has been
conducting confidence surveys in New Zealand every two weeks since
October 2005. The Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence Rating index was
published monthly before that time.
In what the firm calls its December 2006 mid-month survey, the
index was down 0.4 percent from the early December 2006 index of 128.2
to 127.8. Morgan's analysis termed the results "steady."
Over the three year period between January 2004 and December 2006 the
Morgan index reached a high of 140.9 in January 2005 and a low of 104.8
in May 2006.
In a release posted on the Morgan website, the firm reported that
its confidence rating was 10.1 percent above the 2006 average of 117.1.
The December 2006 reading was slightly below the 2005 average of 128.0.
The confidence index has been gaining since hitting its three year
low in May 2006. One of the firm's principals said there was a
reason for the index holding steady as the holiday season in New Zealand
peaks. "A key factor in this period's high rating is data
released by the Automobile Association that showed petrol and diesel
prices were at their lowest in November since late December 2005, with
91 octane petrol retailing for $1.39 per liter [us$0.96] throughout most
of the month, and diesel selling for 99 cents per liter [us$0.93] in the
main centres."
In other findings, the Morgan survey revealed that 41 percent of
respondents said that their families were better off now financially
than they were during the same period in 2005. This finding was
unchanged from the previous survey two weeks previously. And 26 percent
of respondents said that their families were worse off than they were in
2005. This result was up 1 percent from the previous survey.
Also, 51 percent of New Zealand consumers responding to the survey
said they were expecting even better times in the 12 months ahead. Some
23 percent said that times 12 months ahead were likely to be worse. Both
results were unchanged
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