Australia Business Confidence Slips from 6-Year High

The appreciating currency has made things hard for exporters. Australia is an export based economy so the current climb by the AUD has hit certain sectors particularly hard as sales and profits are down.

The monthly survey of over 400 firms from National Australia Bank showed the measure of business confidence falling 4 points to +14 points. In August, the index had reached +18, its best since October 2003 and well above the long-run average.

The measure of business conditions eased 1 point to +3 in September, reflecting falls in sales and profitability.

However the index for employment rose strongly, echoing government data last week which showed 40,600 jobs were created in September, against forecasts for a 10,000 fall.

CNBC

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Alfonso Esparza

Alfonso Esparza

Senior Currency Analyst at Market Pulse
Alfonso Esparza specializes in macro forex strategies for North American and major currency pairs. Upon joining OANDA in 2007, Alfonso Esparza established the MarketPulseFX blog and he has since written extensively about central banks and global economic and political trends. Alfonso has also worked as a professional currency trader focused on North America and emerging markets. He has been published by The MarketWatch, Reuters, the Wall Street Journal and The Globe and Mail, and he also appears regularly as a guest commentator on networks including Bloomberg and BNN. He holds a finance degree from the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education (ITESM) and an MBA with a specialization on financial engineering and marketing from the University of Toronto.
Alfonso Esparza