The latest NZIER Quarterly Survey of Business Opinion (QSBO) shows a modest improvement in business confidence in the first quarter of 2021, while demand held steady. A net 11 percent of businesses expect a worsening in general economic conditions over the coming months, on a seasonally adjusted basis. This is a modest improvement from the 16 percent of businesses which were pessimistic about the economic outlook in the previous quarter. Meanwhile, firms’ own trading activity was unchanged from the previous quarter. This measure suggests annual GDP growth will track around 2 percent in the March 2021 quarter. ... (full story)