KEY POINTS:
New Zealand investor confidence remains at its lowest level since 2001, a bank survey today showed.
A net 1 per cent of respondents to the ASB Bank investor confidence survey believed their investment returns would worsen in the coming year, unchanged from the previous quarter, reports said. The only time it went lower than that was in the fourth quarter of 2001.
ASB's head of investments services, Jonathan Beale, said on National Radio today that worries about the after-effects of the US credit crunch linger among investors.
"Domestically, the New Zealand economy is weakening noticeably and the housing market continues to soften," he said.
He said bank term deposits were a favoured option as the flight to safety continued.
Confidence in rental property, the most favoured asset for the past five years, fell to 16 per cent from 19 per cent in the previous survey, the same as term deposits.
"Having money in the bank is becoming more appealing to some investors, which is not surprising given that deposit rates have continued to edge up and offer a high return for relatively low risk," Beale said.
- NZHERALD STAFF
