2020.07.2305:35:00UTC+00Australia Business Confidence Weakens In Q2

Australia's business confidence declined in the second quarter due to the weakness in construction and mining, quarterly survey data from the National Australia Bank showed Thursday.

The business confidence index fell to -15 in the second quarter from -12 in the first quarter.

The survey showed a significant deterioration in both current conditions as well as expected outcomes for activity, capex and employment going forward.

The current conditions indicator declined sharply to -26 from -3 a quarter ago. The reading reached the lowest level since the early 1990s.

The services sectors, including finance, business and property and recreational and personal services led the decline in business conditions and were the weakest across all industries.

Leading indicators posted a broad and significant deterioration. The index measuring business conditions for the next three months came in at -22 in the second quarter versus -4 in the first quarter. The outlook for the next twelve months fell to -18 from 7 a quarter ago.

Labor indicators pointed to a large deterioration in the labor market. Falling to -28 from -1, the employment index recorded its largest ever fall and was at a very low level.

Further, survey measures of inflation pressures were weak. Final product prices saw a deflation in the quarter while purchase cost growth also slowed.