Australian Business Confidence Picks Up In January

15 Feb 2013

Australian business confidence picked up modestly in January, according to a non-government survey, in the latest sign an improving world economy and interest rate cuts by the central bank are giving firms a boost.

National Australia Bank's business confidence index rose by one point from December to an index reading of +3 points. A separate index of business conditions--which tracks goods orders, employment and profitability--improved to a reading of minus 2 in January from minus 5 in December, NAB said Tuesday.

The Reserve Bank of Australia left its benchmark cash rate unchanged at 3.0% last week, citing fewer global threats and signs the domestic economy was warming to a recent string of interest-rate cuts. The central bank has slashed interest rates by 1.75 percentage points since November 2011 as it strives to spur non-mining parts of the economy hardest hit by a cooling resources boom that has powered Australian growth for at least a decade.

Source: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/australian-business-confidence-picks-up-in-january-2013-02-11-20485827