30 August 2002

External Factors Behind Fall In Confidence - Cullen

Finance Minister Michael Cullen said the drop in business confidence reflected in the latest National Bank survey was disappointing but not surprising given recent developments on the world stage.

“The threat of a US invasion of Iraq; turbulence on the US sharemarket; smaller but still sizeable falls on the sharemarkets of Europe and Japan; the crisis in Argentina and weakness in the economies of Uruguay and Brazil are all issues for concern,” Dr Cullen said.

“New Zealand cannot inoculate itself from international risks. However it is important that we don’t overstate the danger.

“We managed to survive the global downturn last year in good shape, and the continued strong performance of the Australian economy should provide a buffer against adverse events further afield.”

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