Australia data - the National Australia Bank business confidence and business conditions survey for September.
NAB Business confidence: 5
- prior 1
Business conditions: 9
- prior 9, revised from 11
This is a good result today, a positive for the Australian economy
- Index of sales down 4, but its +15 reading is well above long-run average
- Profitability strong at +8, but down 2 points from last month
- Most industries report improved conditions ... mining and manufacturing negative though
- Positive signs for employment, too. The hiring outlook for hiring up 5 points on the month to +4, and a 4 year high.
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Comments from NAB:
- " ... the business survey suggest a good degree of resilience
- What appears to be a building non-mining sector recovery ... Consistently above-average outcomes since March suggest that the improved momentum in the non-mining economy is not merely an aberration, but has become much more ingrained
- Particularly apparent in industries thought to be highly responsive to currency changes in the near-term, including personal and business services
- Trend continues to show improvement, which provides some optimism on the outlook for non-mining business investment and the labour market
- employment is finally improving, turning positive and increasing to its highest level since mid-2011"
NAB on the Reserve Bank of Australia outlook:
- we find it difficult to mount a case for further policy easing on purely domestic grounds and view market pricing for another 25bp cut over the coming 6 months as overly pessimistic.
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more to come
