The retail sector saw a modest improvement in sentiment, exiting deeper negative territory to minus eight index points on a trend basis. However, this was counterbalanced by a decline in the manufacturing sector.
Business conditions decreased slightly by 1 point, remaining at 9 points. According to the survey, this reflects a combination of stable trading conditions and employment levels, along with a four-point fall in profits.
In March, Australian business confidence increased 1 point to 1, reflecting cautious optimism. Retail sales improved, while manufacturing decreased. Business conditions decreased 1 point to 9, leading to a significant decrease in profits. Conditions improved in Tasmania and Western Australia but fell sharply in South Australia. Forward orders showed modest changes.
A closer look at the industry breakdown reveals a diverse picture. Retail businesses reported significant growth conditions, up 8 points, marking a rare bright spot. In contrast, the manufacturing and wholesale sectors saw declines, each down 5 points, offsetting gains in other sectors. Despite the growth, retail conditions remain negative on a trend basis, highlighting persistent headwinds in the sector.
The survey also sheds light on regional disparities. Tasmania and Western Australia led the way with significant improvements in conditions, up 15 and 9 points respectively. Victoria and Queensland also achieved more modest increases. In complete contrast, South Australia dropped sharply by 17 points, with New South Wales recording a slight decrease. Western Australia and Tasmania currently have the highest levels of disease in terms of trends, although all states reported maintaining disease levels generally at reasonable levels.
Forward orders, a key indicator of future activity, improved by 3 points to minus 1 index point, with retail sales showing some signs of recovery although remaining at minus 19 index points. trend numbers. Capital expenditures (capex) remained stable at 7 index points, while capacity utilization decreased slightly to 83.2%.
On costs, the survey highlighted a deceleration in labor cost growth, falling to 1.6% on a quarterly equivalent basis, down from 2%. Purchasing cost growth also slowed from 1.8% to 1.4%, showing that input cost pressures have eased somewhat. Meanwhile, product price growth decreased to 0.7%, from 1.2%, with retail price growth decreasing slightly to 1.3% from 1.4%.
“We are currently seeing slightly above average operating conditions and slightly below average reliability levels for the better part of a year, which is a fairly unusual result in survey history. close,” said. NAB Chief Economist Alan Oster. “Essentially, it tells us that companies continue to be concerned about the outlook even as the economy remains resilient.”
Fiber2 Fashion News Desk (DP)
