Australian business confidence falls to -4 (prior 0)<p>National Australia Bank survey, confidence (at -4) and conditions (at 20) both dropped ( 0 and 22 priors, respectively).</p><ul><li>confidence negative for the first time since December 2021</li></ul><p>Some of the sub-indexes:</p><ul><li>sales -2 to a still very strong +28 (resilience in demand citied for this)</li><li>capacity utilisation just off a record high at 85.2%</li><li>profitability -1 to +20</li><li>employment -1 to +13 (still historically high)</li></ul><p><a href="https://www.forexlive.com/terms/i/inflation/" target="_blank" id="ad51a5a2-1afc-4f42-9e62-ea6faf6f90fa_1" class="terms__main-term">Inflation</a> indicators still high:</p><ul><li>Labour costs up a little in the month</li><li>both producer costs and retail prices higher </li></ul><p>The 'conditions' measure is the more objective of the two, the 'confidence' measure is a reflection of (subjective) sentiment.</p><p>NAB remarks:</p><ul><li>"Overall, the survey suggests the economy powered through November with consumers still spending in the run-up to Christmas" "However, firms have become increasingly pessimistic about the future as they look ahead to a slowing global economy and a period of weaker consumption as inflation and higher rates weigh on households." </li></ul>
This article was written by Eamonn Sheridan at www.forexlive.com.
Source: Australian business confidence falls to -4 (prior 0) (https://www.forexlive.com/news/australian-business-confidence-falls-to-4-prior-0-20221213/https://www.forexlive.com/news/australian-business-confidence-falls-to-4-prior-0-20221213/)
forexlive.com