Australia Confianza Empresarial

Australia’s NAB business confidence index edged down to -3 in March 2025 from a revised -2 in the previous month, marking the lowest level since last November. Industry sentiment was mixed, with confidence slipping in finance, property & business services, and manufacturing, while mining, retail, recreation, and transport saw gains. Meanwhile, business conditions were little changed, holding slightly below average (4 vs 3), as a rise in profitability (1 vs -1) was offset by weaker sales (6 vs 7) and subdued employment (steady at 4). Conditions improved across most sectors except construction, retail, and recreation & personal services. Forward orders ticked up slightly (-2 vs -3), supported by higher capacity utilization (82.9% vs 82.0%) and capital spending (7 vs 6). Purchase cost growth held steady at 1.4% in quarterly terms, labor cost growth eased to 1.5%, and product price growth was flat, though retail price growth softened.