Confidence was up in the areas of retail, manufacturing and construction, while down in agriculture and services, an ANZ survey has found.
ANZ senior economist Sharon Zollner said despite confidence falling two points, from November to December, businesses remained very optimistic about their own prospects.
''The New Zealand economy has been in a sweet spot for some time now,'' she said.
She said growth was ''solid'', currently running at 3.2% per annum, but inflation had remained tame, which meant the Reserve Bank ''party police'' have been content to let things run.
She said the sharpest fall in business confidence was in agriculture, suggesting last month's leap was anomalous, while the largest lift was in the construction sector.
Fonterra's reduction this month of its forecast milk solids payout to farmers - estimated to take $6 billion from the economy - had been widely expected, from November through to December.
Ms Zollner said sentiment in the residential construction sector rose a ''chirpy'' 10 points, while the commercial sector eased 6 points, but otherwise remains ''at solid levels''.
While the growth rate of the New Zealand economy is likely to slow over the next year, that is natural in a maturing economic cycle.
''The last recession was four years ago. Real GDP [gross domestic product] has risen 10.8% since then,'' she said.
The main threats to the economic expansion lay offshore, but there had not been a domestic build-up of the type of imbalances which typically preceded a business cycle's natural end.
''There are weak spots of course ... retailing is still a tough gig,'' she said.
There are also material risks to manage at present, including watching dairy prices, housing, and whether inflation is ''dead or only sleeping'', she said.
''But it's global risks to which we're most alert. Plunging oil prices are not a good sign,'' Ms Zollner said.
