NAB Business Confidence Index bounces to -46 in April, AUD/USD remains heavy

NAB Survey still remains in the negative territory.
Australian budget is up for release later on Tuesday.
AUD/USD keeps losses below 0.6450 on disappointing data.

Dhwani Mehta FXStreet

National Australia Bank’s (NAB) index of business conditions slumped to -34 points in April vs. -21 last.

The survey’s volatile measure of business confidence bounced to -46 in April vs -66 seen in March. The gauge jumped off the lowest in the history of the series but remains well below the long-run average.

Measures of sales and profits dropped sharply, while employment dived 15 points to -35.

NAB Group Chief Economist Alan Oster said: " Confidence saw a rebound, but this provides little comfort given it remains around twice as weak as the 1990s recession. Business conditions declined further in the month, with a broad-based deterioration across industries.”

“The decline in the employment index is consistent with a significant shedding of employees by respondents. Overall, the survey suggests that the unemployment rate will rise substantially in April,” Oster added.

AUD/USD reaction

Australian dollar keeps losses on the downbeat NAB Business Survey, as AUD/USD meanders near three-day lows of 0.6432 reached in the last hour. The risk-off sentiment dominates amid renewed Australia-China trade tensions.

At the time of writing, AUD/USD trades 0.76% lower at 0.6438, with the bounce having faltered at 0.6450.

Author

Dhwani Mehta

FXStreet

Residing in Mumbai (India), Dhwani is a Senior Analyst and Manager of the Asian session at FXStreet. She has over 10 years of experience in analyzing and covering the global financial markets, with specialization in Forex and commodities markets.

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