أستراليا الثقة في قطاع الأعمال

Australia’s NAB business confidence index inched up to -2 in December 2024 from -3 in the prior month despite marking the second straight month of negative prints. Meanwhile, business conditions surged (6 vs 3 in November), boosted by strong sales (9 vs 6) and profitability (4 vs 0) during the year-end, along with a slight rise in employment (4 vs 3). Conditions improved in all industries except transport and utilities, construction, and wholesale. There was a notable rise in retail, growing for the first time since November 2023. Forward orders gained (-2 vs -5), with capex being flat (at 11) and capacity utilization up (82.8% vs 82.4%). Purchase cost growth rose again to 1.5% in quarterly equivalent terms, while labor cost growth edged down to 1.4%. Product price growth rose to 0.9% from 0.6%, and retail price growth added to 0.7%. "The survey continues to show some resilience in activity but also...a challenging cost environment," said NAB chief economist Alan Oster.