Australian business conditions slip to over 18-month low in November on weakness in trading conditions

Business conditions in Australia slipped to over 18-month low during November, following weakness in firms trading conditions           with further reductions in firms’ reported profitability and employment in the month.

Australia November NAB business conditions rose to 5, down from 6 in October and business confidence rose to 5, from 4 in October. Conditions have seen a marked weakening over the second half of 2016, driven by a noticeable reduction in firms’ profitability. The profitability index has averaged 6.9 in the second half of the year compared to a very strong 11.9 over the first half.

The improvement in capacity utilization in November is more encouraging after a run of weak results. The trend rate of capacity utilization now looks to have bottomed, which is consistent with a steady unemployment rate. The small improvement in November is a positive result given the potential headwinds to confidence, including the response to last month’s US election.

Meanwhile, the AUD/USD traded at 0.75, down -0.07 percent, while at 5:00GMT, the FxWirePro's Hourly AUD Strength Index remained highly bearish at -139.54 (a reading above +75 indicates a bullish trend, while that below -75 a bearish trend). For more details, visit http://www.fxwirepro.com/currencyindex