Australia: Business confidence down, conditions up – Westpac

Andrew Hanlan, analyst at Westpac, notes that Australia’s business confidence spike has unwinded as its down 5pts to +2, while business conditions surge by 2pts to +3.

Key Quotes

“The NAB business survey for June revealed that the spike in business confidence in May (post the Federal election and with the RBA set to cut rates) was a one hit wonder.”

“The survey was conducted from June 18 to 28. Recall that the previous survey was conducted around the time of the May 18 Federal election (it was sent out on May 14 and interviewing was from May 20 to 24).”

“Business confidence fell 5pts to +2 in June, a below average reading. This largely reversed the 7pt spike in May.”

“The business conditions index rose in June, up by 2pts to +3, also a below average reading.”

“For the June quarter, conditions averaged +2, representing a sharp loss of momentum from the +18 prevailing in mid-2018. The Q2 outcome is the weakest in five years, since mid-2014.”