SYDNEY - A measure of Australian business activity slid to its lowest since the pandemic in November as confidence took a turn for the worse amid tough trading conditions in the manufacturing and retail sectors.) showed its index of business conditions dropped 5 points to +2 in November, its weakest reading since late 2020. The more volatile confidence index sank to -3, more than reversing October's jump to +5.
"While we were optimistic last month, it appears the trend of well below-average confidence remains intact," said Alan Oster, chief economist at NAB. The Reserve Bank of Australia wraps up its December policy meeting later on Tuesday and is widely expected to hold rates at 4.35%, where they have been for the past year.
Growth in input costs ticked up to 1.1%, while labour costs held at 1.4%. The official measure of consumer price inflation had slowed sharply to 2.8% in the September quarter, though much of that was due to temporary government rebates on electricity bills.Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors.