Australian business confidence improved in June, although conditions remained sub-trend, results of a survey by the National Australia Bank showed Tuesday.
The NAB business confidence index increased to 8 in June from 7 in May despite the government's challenging new budget. This improvement was driven by strengthened confidence in almost all the industries, with the surge in construction industry confidence contributing the most.
New orders remained stagnant in June, the same as in May.
However, the employment index weakened in June, coming in at -3, after being unchanged in May. Capacity utilization fell to 79.3 percent in June from 80.2 in May.
On the pricing front, input costs rose 0.3 percent quarter-over-quarter in June, a slower rate of increase than the 0.4 percent increase in May. Labor wages grew at a slower rate of 0.6 percent in June following the 0.7 percent increase in May. Output prices rose 0.1 percent on a quarterly basis in June, the same rate as in May.
The business conditions index increased to 2 in June from -1 in May, ending the negative trend that started in the beginning of the year. Sales and profits were stronger in June while employment remained weak.
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