New Zealand business confidence rose for the first time in four months in November, and firms were more optimistic about their own prospects going into next year even as Europe's debt crisis put pressure on domestic interest rate expectations.

The National Bank of New Zealand's monthly business outlook showed a net 28.8 percent of companies expect their own business to grow in the next 12 months, compared with a 26.1 percent last month and 35.4 percent in September.

The survey's headline measure of sentiment showed a net 18.3 percent of respondents expecting the economy to improve over the next 12 months, compared with a net 13.2 percent optimism level in the previous month.