Confidence and conditions at odds in business banking

National Australia Bank’s head of business banking Andrew Irvine said the bank’s latest survey of business conditions reveals it is getting harder for companies to push cost increases past consumers, as higher interest rates crunch household budgets.

“It’s a fact that our retail spend numbers are still robust, and we haven’t yet seen the negative implications play out in the economy. But that’s not to say that business owners don’t feel it’s going to come, and I think that’s why the confidence indicators are falling.”purchasing manager index contracted in March, dipping to a three-month low of 48.1 from 50.6 in February.

Mr Irvine said finding people to fill vacancies is still a greater issue for West Coast businesses than the steepest tightening cycle in three decades.

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