Deteriorating business conditions in Australia point to an economic slowdown that is likely to result in interest rates remaining on hold for the rest of 2005, a survey found.
The National Australia Bank's (NAB’s) quarterly index of business conditions fell 2.9 points to 14 points in the March quarter, while the survey's measure of business confidence among executives fell 3.2 points to 7.6.
"Both activity and confidence levels in the business sector during the March quarter have significantly come off the highs of last year," NAB chief economist Alan Oster said.
Oster said there was some danger that a jobs market at its strongest in 28 years would increase pressure on wages and drive up inflation modestly.
