National Australia Bank Ltd. (NAB) released its January 2026 Business Survey, reporting a 1-point increase in business confidence, bringing the index to 3 points, just below its long-run average. Business conditions fell by 3 points to +7 index points, primarily due to declines in trading conditions and profitability, although conditions remain slightly above average in trend terms. Services industries continue to show the most strength, with improvements also seen in wholesale, retail, and construction sectors compared to late 2024. Capacity utilisation eased to 82.9%, down 0.6 percentage points from its recent peak but still 1.5 percentage points above the long-run average. Forward orders rebounded to +2 index points, indicating ongoing improvement in economic conditions. Cost and price growth hit post-pandemic lows: purchase cost growth slowed to 1.1% (quarterly equivalent), labour cost growth fell to 1.3%, product price growth dropped to 0.5%, and retail price growth decreased to 0.3%. These are the lowest levels for all cost and price growth measures since 2021. By industry, business conditions declined across most sectors except finance, property & business services, and transport & utilities. Retail and manufacturing recorded the weakest conditions in trend terms. By state, the fall in conditions was mainly driven by South Australia and Tasmania, with New South Wales and Victoria lagging slightly behind other states. The employment sub-component remained unchanged for the third consecutive month.

Disclaimer: This news brief was created by Public Technologies (PUBT) using generative artificial intelligence. While PUBT strives to provide accurate and timely information, this AI-generated content is for informational purposes only and should not be interpreted as financial, investment, or legal advice. NAB - National Australia Bank Ltd. published the original content used to generate this news brief on February 11, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained therein.