2019.07.1802:37:00UTC+00Australia Business Confidence Rises In Q2

Australia business confidence rose sharply in second quarter, data from the National Australia Bank showed on Thursday.

The business confidence index rose to +6 in second quarter from zero point in the previous quarter.

Meanwhile, the business conditions index fell 3 points to +1 in second quarter. The indicator has continued the downward trend since early 2018 and remained below its average.

Conditions in mining continued to be favorable, while that in retail and property weakened in the second quarter.

"The strong lift in confidence appears to be related to the outcome of the Federal election, with the bulk of the survey conducted post election day and also around the time of firming expectations of rate cuts," Alan Oster, NAB group chief economist, said.

"The impact of labour demand on wage growth will remain an important dynamic in this sense - with slack already evident in the labour market, any weakening in labour demand could well see further action from the RBA on rates to bolster the economy," Oster said.