The National Australia Bank Business Survey is an important economic indicator for Australia that rate the level of current business conditions and performance in short term view. The changes in sentiment act as an initial signal of impending economic activity such as investment, hiring and spending. The National Australia Bank Business Survey is based on data collected from around 350 companies across the country. A level below zero indicates worsening, and the level above zero indicates improving conditions.
In April 2020, National Australia Bank Business confidence rose to -46 as compared to a previous month record low of -65 in March 2020. The global financial crisis due to coronavirus pandemic has further weakened the business conditions. A decline was seen in various business sectors, including sales (-33), employment (-35) and profit (-35). Almost all business sectors continued to decline except mining, which saw a significant increase.
The onward order also fell more rapidly (-36) which are likely to decline further in the near future. The capacity utilization also dropped to a new record level. Once the rules of social distancing are relaxed, and coronavirus is contained, everyone expects a rapid and relatively bound back in business activity.
The report of National Australia Bank Business Survey is released on a monthly and quarterly basis usually at 1:30 GMT by National Australian Bank. Reading higher than expected taken as positive for AUD while reading lower than expected is taken as unfavourable for the Australian economy.