Australia: Offshore, confidence is high – ANZ

Research Team at ANZ notes that the readings of consumer and business confidence in Australia disappointed this week.

Key Quotes

“When we look to confidence readings in other parts of the world, it suggests that the weakness in Australia was driven by domestic factors. Elsewhere, confidence appears to be on the rise. The November NFIB small business optimism index rose to 98.4 (94.9), its highest level since November 2014, and appears to have been buoyed in part by Trump’s election victory. The balance of firms planning to hire rose to +15%, those reporting higher selling prices rose to 5% (2%) and the balance expecting a better economy rose to 12% (-7%).”

“The December German ZEW index rose to 63.5 vs 58.8 – its highest reading since September last year. Businesses do not seem to be impaired by the rise in populist sentiment evident in opinion polls across Europe. Expectations over the next six months were stable at 13.8.”