The latest NZIER Quarterly Survey of Business Opinion showed a drop in business confidence in the March quarter. Only a net 1 percent of firms expect better general economic conditions over the coming months on a seasonally adjusted basis. This was a decrease from the net 39 percent expecting a better general economic outlook in the December quarter. Firms’ own trading activity was flat on a seasonally adjusted basis, which is a slight improvement from the net 3 percent reporting a decline in activity in their own business in the previous quarter.