Preview is here
- A sharp decline, down 2.8 on the month and in contraction (since February 2012 – the longest run of continuous contraction since the dat series commenced in 2003)
- Lowest since August 2013
- Reverses the improvement seen in the 3 months following the election
- December decline driven by further deterioration in the employment sub-index (now at 47.7 from above 50 in November)
- All sub-sectors in contraction
From the release:
- Respondents generally noted a decline in both business and consumer confidence in the latest survey, suggesting that the boost to sentiment following the Federal election has largely faded.
- For many businesses, the earlier improvement in confidence never translated into a solid improvement in demand and activity.
- Businesses also voiced concerns this month over the uncertainties surrounding the short-term outlook for the domestic economy. These concerns were largely confirmed by the worsening outlook for the domestic economy in the Government’s mid-year Budget update (the MYEFO), released just a week after this Australian PSI® survey was taken
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The AUD has barely responded, 0.8955/58