Sydney, March 12 (Reuters) – Survey results on Tuesday showed Australia's business confidence rebounded in February as sales and profits rebounded, while retail prices soared in what could be a red flag about a slowing inflation trend.
National Australia Bank (NAB) research showed the business conditions index rose three points to +10, again above the long-term average of +7.
A volatile gauge of business confidence fell one point to zero, with the retail sector a major drag as high mortgage rates and historic inflation weighed on incomes.
According to the survey, corporate sales rose 5 points to +14, profitability rose 3 points to +9 and employment rose 1 point to +6. Occupancy rate decreased from 83.7% to 83.4%.
“It is too early to tell whether this is just a temporary recovery or the beginning of a more meaningful turnaround,” said Alan Oster, chief economist at NAB.
He noted that activity in service sectors such as transportation, recreation and personal services, finance, and business and real estate remained strong, while retail and construction sectors were weak.
Oster added: “Cost pressures clearly remain high for businesses and there appears to be still room for businesses to pass this on to production prices.”
The quarterly growth rate of purchasing costs rose 1.8% in February. Retail price growth rebounded from +0.9% to +1.4% in December and he reversed some of the easing in commodity prices seen in January.
“These results are a reminder that much of the progress in inflation to date has been driven by improvements in global supply conditions, and future improvements are likely not to be linear,” Oster said. Stated.
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has raised interest rates to a 12-year peak of 4.35% in a bid to curb inflation and continues to warn that further rate hikes may be necessary even as the economy slows. There is.
(Reporting by Wayne Cole; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)
((Wayne.Cole@thomsonreuters.com; 612 9171 7144; Reuters Messaging: wayne.cole.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))
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