There are mixed messages in the latest ANZ NZ Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence Survey, which shows consumer confidence has improved but remains very subdued.
Consumer confidence rose six points to 85.5 in June, the highest it has been since January last year.
However as ANZ Chief Economist Sharon Zollner noted, "it's not all rosy in consumer land".
"The overall level of confidence remains very subdued," she said.
"While job security is still excellent on the whole and wage growth historically strong, ongoing cost of living increases continue to bite.
"There have also been widespread headlines about recession in the past month.
"Yet despite all that, confidence lifted markedly in June."
There were several other apparent contradictions in the figures.
People's perceptions of their personal financial situation dropped 4 points, so that more people felt they were currently worse off, and yet more people were expecting to be better off this time next year.
That suggests people may see their current situation as more difficult, but are more hopeful of better times ahead.
"Those with mortgages are generally more pessimistic, with the notable exception of the question about their personal financial situation in a year's time," Zollner said.
"This suggests that people are expecting lower interest rates within that time frame.
"For our part, we're not so sure," she cautioned.
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