Over the last few months, the adjectives used by NAB economists to describe business conditions have strengthened from “solid” to “elevated” and then to a “record high” in April. Now, conditions are back to “relatively high levels” after a steep, but not unprecedented, fall in May.
According to NAB’s latest monthly business survey of 400 firms conducted in the last week of May, its Business Conditions Index reversed April’s jump to 21 and fell back to a reading of 15. NAB chief economist Alan Oster said, “The strength is generally broad-based across industries although retail continues to lag.”
