WELLINGTON, June 18 (Reuters) - Consumer confidence in New Zealand improved in the second quarter but remains at historically weak levels, a survey showed on Wednesday.
The Westpac-McDermott Miller consumer confidence index edged higher to 91.2 from 89.2 in the previous quarter. A reading above 100 indicates more optimists than pessimists.
Westpac said the two-point bump is a fairly modest rise after the sharp fall in the first quarter, and leaves consumer confidence a fair bit below average levels.
"It's been a bumpy and uncertain few months. And against that backdrop, New Zealand households have remained nervous about the economic outlook," the survey said.
(Reporting by Lucy Craymer in Wellington; Editing by Chris Reese)
((lucy.craymer@thomsonreuters.com [renju.jose@thomsonreuters.com];))
