New Zealand Business Confidence Eases in September as Rising Oil Prices Weigh on Activity

New Zealand business sentiment softened in September as surging global oil prices pressured activity indicators, according to the ANZ Business Outlook survey. The headline confidence index slipped to around +52 from 53.7, while expected own activity held relatively steady near +48. However, late-month responses showed a sharper deceleration, with own activity expectations dropping to +36 and past activity falling to 10.8 from 16.4 as oil surged toward $128 per barrel. Despite energy cost pressures, year-ahead inflation expectations held stable at 3.25%, even as wage expectations ticked higher to around 2.8%.