The underlying component data revealed some interesting trends which NAB said would be worth monitoring. Trading and profitability eased back slightly from their July highs, but conditions in those categories remain elevated. Following consistent jobs growth in recent months, there was a notable pickup in the employment index in August. There was also some evidence that positive trends in the labour market may be flowing through to higher wages. In what could be good news for Australian consumers, the labour costs index rose to 1.2 in August from 0.7 in July.
Higher costs are weighing on business confidence
- Tuesday, Sep 12 2017
The latest monthly business survey by NAB shows that Australian business conditions are holding up well at recent record highs.That’s the good news, because data for August revealed a sharp fall in business confidence, following consistent gains in that sub-index over recent months. Despite that, overall business conditions ticked higher to +15 from a reading of +14 in July, to currently sit well above their long-term average and at the highest level since early 2008.