Australia NAB Business Confidence dropped from 10 to 5 in September. Business Conditions rose from 22 to 25. Trading conditions rose from 29 to 38. Profitability conditions was unchanged at 19. Employment conditions dropped from 17 to 16.
“Conditions are now higher than their pre-COVID peak, which shows just how strong demand is at present,” said NAB Chief Economist Alan Oster. “The current level of conditions are only exceeded by the post-lockdown surge in early 2021. Clearly, consumers are still finding a way to keep spending, with the very strong labour market, savings buffers and a broader post-pandemic recovery all playing a role.”
“Confidence eased in the month but is still around the long-run average in the history of the survey,” said Oster. “The confidence index has been volatile recently but is clearly a little lower than it was early in the year when the passing of the Omicron wave was providing a strong reason for optimism. Still, businesses are far from pessimistic.”
