Australia’s NAB Business Confidence showed slight improvement in December, rising from -3 to -2, but remains below the long-term average since early 2023. Business Conditions, on the other hand, posted a stronger gain, climbing from 3 to 6.
Breaking down the details, trading conditions improved from 6 to 9, profitability rose from 0 to 4, and employment conditions ticked up from 3 to 4..
Price pressures continue to persist, with purchase cost growth rising slightly to 1.5% in quarterly equivalent terms. Labour cost growth edged lower to 1.4%, but output price growth increased by 0.3 percentage points to 0.9%. Retail prices also ticked up to 0.7%.
According to NAB Chief Economist Alan Oster, “The uptick in purchase cost growth and final product prices reminds us that businesses continue to face some price pressures.”
