Australian business forward orders slump in October, NAB survey shows
SPY•NAB’s October survey showed forward orders fell 11 points to -12, led by construction and manufacturing. Business confidence slipped 1 point to -15, while conditions declined 1 point to -2.
1. Survey results
Forward orders fell 11 points to -12 in October, led by construction and manufacturing. Trading conditions fell 4 points to -1, and profitability dropped 2 points to -8, leaving both more than 10 points below average.
2. Industry details
Retail had the weakest confidence, conditions and forward orders across industries, while retail price growth slowed 0.8 percentage points to 0.2%. Construction had sharply lower forward orders and persistently high input cost growth, despite the highest capacity utilization of any industry.
