{"id":431706,"date":"2026-06-09T08:40:05","date_gmt":"2026-06-09T01:40:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swingfish.trade\/blog\/market-news\/2026\/06\/australia-business-confidence-improves-in-may-but-stays-deeply-negative\/"},"modified":"2026-06-09T08:40:05","modified_gmt":"2026-06-09T01:40:05","slug":"australia-business-confidence-improves-in-may-but-stays-deeply-negative","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swingfish.trade\/blog\/market-news\/2026\/06\/australia-business-confidence-improves-in-may-but-stays-deeply-negative\/","title":{"rendered":"Australia business confidence improves in May but stays deeply negative"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\">The modest confidence improvement offers slim comfort for RBA watchers given the index remains firmly negative across all industries and profitability is the weakest sub-component relative to its long-run average. The drop in capacity utilisation below 82%, the first such reading since early 2025, is consistent with an economy losing momentum and adds to the case for the RBA to maintain an easing bias. Cost pressures easing only slightly keeps the inflation picture complicated, particularly alongside the global energy price environment. For markets, the data reinforces a picture of an Australian economy muddling through rather than deteriorating sharply, which is unlikely to force the RBA&#8217;s hand in either direction in the near term.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\">&#8212;<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\">\nAustralia&#8217;s NAB business confidence rose to -14 in May from -23 in April while conditions held steady at +3, but cost pressures and global uncertainty kept sentiment firmly negative. (181 chars)<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\">National Australia Bank monthly business survey, summary:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"[li_&amp;]:mb-0 [li_&amp;]:mt-1 [li_&amp;]:gap-1 [&amp;:not(:last-child)_ul]:pb-1 [&amp;:not(:last-child)_ol]:pb-1 list-disc flex flex-col gap-1 pl-8 mb-3\">\n<li class=\"font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2\">Business conditions held at +3 in May, unchanged from April and ending four consecutive months of decline<\/li>\n<li class=\"font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2\">Business confidence improved to -14 from -23 in April, remaining negative across all industries<\/li>\n<li class=\"font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2\">NAB economist Michael Hayes said global uncertainty, a softening domestic backdrop and elevated cost pressures are keeping confidence very weak<\/li>\n<li class=\"font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2\">The profitability sub-component is furthest below its long-run average of all measures, pointing to persistent margin squeeze<\/li>\n<li class=\"font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2\">Cost measures eased somewhat in May but remain historically elevated<\/li>\n<li class=\"font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2\">Capacity utilisation fell below 82% for the first time since early 2025, signalling softer economic growth<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\">Australian business conditions held steady in May while confidence staged a partial recovery from deeply pessimistic April levels, though the overall mood across the corporate sector remains firmly negative as cost pressures continue to erode profitability.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\">The National Australia Bank&#8217;s monthly survey showed its business conditions index unchanged at plus-3 in May, ending a four-month run of declines. A modest lift in sales activity offset continued weakness elsewhere, preventing a further deterioration. Confidence improved to minus-14 from minus-23 in April, but the recovery leaves sentiment well in negative territory.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\">NAB economist Michael Hayes said the combination of persistent global uncertainty, a softening domestic economy and elevated costs is keeping firms cautious, with no industry recording a positive confidence reading. He flagged that the profitability sub-component is tracking furthest below its long-run average, suggesting businesses are absorbing cost increases rather than passing them through in full.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\">Cost measures eased modestly during the month but remain high by historical standards. Capacity utilisation slipped below 82% for the first time since early 2025, a reading that NAB characterises as consistent with subdued economic growth rather than contraction. <\/p>\n<p>                            This article was written by Eamonn Sheridan at investinglive.com.<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The modest confidence improvement offers slim comfort for RBA watchers given the index remains firmly negative across all industries and profitability is the weakest sub-component relative to its long-run average. The drop in capacity utilisation below 82%, the first such reading since early 2025, is consistent with an economy losing momentum and adds to the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":216,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[86],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-431706","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-market-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swingfish.trade\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/431706","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swingfish.trade\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swingfish.trade\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swingfish.trade\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/216"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swingfish.trade\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=431706"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.swingfish.trade\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/431706\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swingfish.trade\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=431706"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swingfish.trade\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=431706"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swingfish.trade\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=431706"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}