The February NAB Business Survey is out and shows broad based weakness with pretty much everything still subdued:
The two forward indicators show mixed signals. Employment improved a touch and may be bottoming:
But forward orders collapsed in everything except finance and property:
NAB reckons the following:
Business conditions & confidence both edge down in February. High AUD hurting manufacturing and lack of non-mining demand weighing on most sectors. Large falls in orders, poor capacity use, and weak capex plans (esp. mining) don’t augur well for near-term (weak) domestic demand. 2013 GDP forecasts up marginally (historical revisions). RBA still needs to ease further, but with early signs that lower rates are helping housing and consumers, we now expect another 50 bps of cuts (previously 75 bps).
Some very early signs of rebalancing but cosmetic at best.
