Australia National Australia Bank business confidence & conditions for May
National Australia Bank business confidence +7. This is the highest in 9 months
- prior was +3
Conditions +7. Highest since October of 2014
- prior was +4
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Good jump for both indicators
More:
- The Capex index is up 4 to +10, above its long-term average
- Capacity utilization 80.8% (was 80.1% in April)
From NAB comments:
- Improved conditions not uniform across all business sectors
- A "meaningful recovery in employment remains distant"
- "The big picture is still one where the domestic economy is struggling to offset the impact of sharply lower mining investment - as again highlighted in the national accounts" of Q1
- "there has been some improvement in recent data"
- Capex expectations in the non-mining sector have weakened, businesses remain reluctant to employ and consumers remain cautious
- "With future domestic demand still weak, unemployment is expected to rise a touch to around 6.4 per cent by the end of 2015 and remain relatively high for some time"
- NAB says the RBA has finished its current easing cycle
- Says mild improvement in some forward-looking indicators in the May confidence survey pointed to a "modest pick-up in demand in the near term"