11.11.202501:02:55UTC+00Australia Business Sentiment Inches Lower

In October 2025, Australia's NAB Business Confidence Index experienced a slight decline, dropping to 6 from 7 in September, yet it continued to surpass the long-term average. Concurrently, business conditions witnessed a modest enhancement, with a rise to 9 compared to 8 the previous month. This improvement was driven by stronger sales, which increased to 19 from 14, and profitability moving up to 9 from 6. Employment figures remained stable at 3. Additionally, the pressure on prices lessened, with purchase costs growing at a quarterly rate of 1% and labor costs at 1.5%. The capacity utilization rate ticked up marginally to 83.4% from 83.3%, reflecting sustained high activity levels. NAB's Chief Economist, Sally Auld, commented that the resilience in business conditions indicates that the economy has sustained the momentum gained since late 2024. Nonetheless, she pointed out that this growth is happening under constraints of limited spare capacity, with high utilization rates and ongoing wage and margin pressures continuing to dampen confidence levels.