2019.07.0823:47:00UTC+00Australia Business Confidence Weakens In June: NAB

Australia business confidence weakened in June after rising sharply in May, monthly survey data from the National Australia Bank showed Tuesday.

The business confidence index fell 5 points to +2 in June and the decline was broad-based across industries.

Meanwhile, the business conditions index rose 2 points to +3 driven by a lift in employment and trading sub-indexes. Nonetheless, the indicator remained well below its long-run average. Conditions remained the highest in mining, and weakest by some way in retail, NAB noted.

"Business confidence appears to have unwound its spike in May, which we think was driven by a short-term election bounce and increased optimism around a renewed interest rate easing cycle by the RBA," Alan Oster, NAB group chief economist, said.

Forward orders remained very weak indicating that the pipeline of demand is weak, Oster added.

The survey said forward-looking indicators were mixed in June, but continued to suggest that business conditions were unlikely to improve significantly in coming months.