Australia Business Sentiment Inches Higher

2026-01-27 00:42 By Farida Husna 1 min. read

Australia’s NAB Business Confidence Index edged up to 3 in December 2025 from an upwardly revised 2 in the previous month.

Meanwhile, business conditions strengthened (9 vs 7 November), driven by gains in both sales (16 vs 13) and profits ( vs 4) while employment held steady (at 4).

Price measures ticked higher in the three months to December, though capacity utilisation eased only slightly to a still elevated 83.2%.

“The survey is consistent with the view that momentum improved in the Australian economy in the fourth quarter,” said NAB Chief Economist Sally Auld, noting that elevated utilisation was broad-based.

Tuesday’s figure preceded December inflation data, after November eased to 3.4%, a three-month low but still above the central bank's 2–3% target.

Meantime, the Reserve Bank is set to begin its first policy meeting of the year next week, having maintained the cash rate at 3.6% for the third month in a row in December.



News Stream
Australia Business Sentiment Inches Higher
Australia’s NAB Business Confidence Index edged up to 3 in December 2025 from an upwardly revised 2 in the previous month. Meanwhile, business conditions strengthened (9 vs 7 November), driven by gains in both sales (16 vs 13) and profits ( vs 4) while employment held steady (at 4). Price measures ticked higher in the three months to December, though capacity utilisation eased only slightly to a still elevated 83.2%. “The survey is consistent with the view that momentum improved in the Australian economy in the fourth quarter,” said NAB Chief Economist Sally Auld, noting that elevated utilisation was broad-based. Tuesday’s figure preceded December inflation data, after November eased to 3.4%, a three-month low but still above the central bank's 2–3% target. Meantime, the Reserve Bank is set to begin its first policy meeting of the year next week, having maintained the cash rate at 3.6% for the third month in a row in December.
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