Aussie data dump: Feb NAB business confidence/conditions survey + Home Loans send AUD lower

Feb NAB business conditions/confidence

The RBA will be among those watching the Feb NAB business conditions and confidence survey that has just been released as follows: 

• Conditions 4 vs 7 prior exp 5
• Confidence 2 vs 4 prior exp 3

"In H1 2018, both the headline confidence and conditions indexes were well above long term averages, but both fell substantially in H2 2018," as analysts at Westpac pointed out. "Both ticked up slightly in Jan, the conditions index to +7 (versus a 25 year average of +6) and confidence to +4 (25 year average also +6)."

Home Loans

Australia Jan housing finance data was expected to show the number of owner-occupier approvals declining -2% and the value of investment loans -- 1.5% following the concerning -8.2% on total approvals in Dec.

The data arrived as follows:

-2.6% vs 1.0% exp and -6.1% prior.

As a result of the data dump, AUD/USD has dipped lower as the RBA will be pressured to cut rates on an accumulation of such worsening economic outlooks from such data misses as this. 

About the National Australia Bank Business Confidence survey

The National Australia Bank Business Confidence is a survey of the current business condition in Australia. It indicates the performance of the overall Australian economy in a short-term view. A positive economic growth anticipates bullish movements for the AUD, whereas a negative growth is seen as bearish. is a survey of the current business condition in Australia. It indicates the performance of the overall Australian economy in a short-term view. A positive economic growth anticipates bullish movements for the AUD, whereas a negative growth is seen as bearish.