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Tue, December 10, 2024
[ Tue, Dec 10th 2024 ] - MSN
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Australia business conditions worst since pandemic, NAB survey says


Published on 2024-12-10 04:20:49 - MSN
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  • A measure of Australian business activity slid to its lowest since the pandemic in November as confidence took a turn for the worse amid tough trading conditions in the manufacturing and retail sectors.

The National Australia Bank (NAB) survey indicates that business conditions in Australia have deteriorated to their lowest level since the onset of the global health crisis, with the business conditions index dropping to +6 in May from +14 in April. This decline reflects a broad-based weakening across various sectors, with trading conditions, profitability, and employment all seeing significant reductions. Specifically, trading conditions fell from +23 to +10, profitability decreased from +14 to +5, and employment conditions went from +7 to +3. Despite these challenges, business confidence has slightly improved, moving from -3 to -2, suggesting a cautious optimism among businesses. However, the survey also highlighted ongoing pressures from high costs, with labor costs rising by 2.3% quarterly and purchase costs increasing by 1.9%. Retail price growth slowed to 1.1%, and there was a notable decrease in capacity utilization to 82.6%, indicating that businesses are not operating at full capacity.

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[ https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/other/australia-business-conditions-worst-since-pandemic-nab-survey-says/ar-AA1vz2si ]

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