Why has the NAB survey gone screwy?

Tuesday, 14 November 2017

Via Westpac:

• The NAB business survey for October was positive, with the business conditions index jumping 7pts to +21, a new all time high. Trading conditions and profitability rose, while employment conditions were unchanged at +8. Business confidence was also unchanged at +8, a reading a little above average. The survey was conducted from October 25 to 31.

• The October update likely overstates the underlying strength of the economy, with the lift in conditions probably including an element of noise. Manufacturing business conditions surprisingly spiked and conditions in NSW also jumped sharply – both of which may reverse in November.

The full text of this article is available to MacroBusiness subscribers

$1 for your first month, then:

$24.99 / month

$249 / year

Cancel at any time through our billing provider, Stripe

About the author

David Llewellyn-Smith is Chief Strategist at the MB Fund and MB Super. David is the founding publisher and editor of MacroBusiness and was the founding publisher and global economy editor of The Diplomat, the Asia Pacific’s leading geo-politics and economics portal. He is also a former gold trader and economic commentator at The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, the ABC and Business Spectator. He is the co-author of The Great Crash of 2008 with Ross Garnaut and was the editor of the second Garnaut Climate Change Review.