In Australia, NAB reported a dip in Business Confidence for October, falling from 0 to -2. However, Business Conditions saw a slight improvement, rising from 12 to 13. Notably, trading conditions increased from 18 to 20, and profitability conditions improved from 9 to 12, while employment conditions slightly decreased from 9 to 8.
NAB Chief Economist Alan Oster commented, “Business conditions remain healthy, picking up in October and still well above average. Still, business confidence remained soft in the month, still well below average at -2 index points.” He highlighted the persistent gap of 10-15 index points between current conditions and the more forward-looking confidence indicator, emphasizing that “Businesses clearly remain cautious about the outlook for the economy despite the resilience we are seeing.”
The report also noted a slowdown in price and cost growth. Labour cost growth eased to 1.8% in quarterly equivalent terms, and purchase cost growth declined to 1.8%. Retail price growth remained stable at 1.9%, while overall price growth eased to 1.0%, marking the slowest rate since July 2020.
Oster added, “The Q3 CPI showed inflation had been persistent through the middle of the year and the survey suggests this remained the case heading into Q4. We still expect to see gradual moderation over time but it will be a protracted process, especially given the resilience of domestic demand thus far.”
