AUS
NZ
UK
CA
USA
FRA
GER
ESP
ITA
NLD
PRT
SWE
GRC
IND
POL
BRA
ZAF
RUS
CHN
UAE
.jpg)
Source: Panumas Yanuthai, Shutterstock
Summary
- ANZ releases Business Outlook report, which shows falling confidence.
- Housing weaker than before, but still strongest on the list.
- Second half of the month captured the falling indicators, whose preliminary results might not have been recorded.
In a recent update, there has been a report given out by ANZ, the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group, which reveals that the business confidence of the country seems to be falling in the month of March. The pressures of high costs are still prevalent, the uncertainty around the coronavirus pandemic, the supply chain disharmony, and the border restrictions etc., may collectively be a reason for the current situation.
Image Source: Copyright © 2021 Kalkine Media Pty Ltd
An overview of the ANZ confidence report
Sharon Zollner, the Chief economist with ANZ, was of the view that as compared to the month of February, Mach had witnessed a decline of 11 points, making it -4.1%. On the other hand, the outlook for own activity of the firms took a 4-point tumble to become 17%.
There were some major statistical revelations made by the report. While there was a 4% rise witnessed in employment intentions, the investment intentions took a 4-point fall to reach 11.9%. The capacity utilisation showed little change and remained at 14.6%.
The Construction crunch!
With a 20-point fall witnessed in residential construction intentions, as many as 32% of the Companies were said to be expecting activity higher than they recorded. There was a 5-point decline witnessed in the intentions for Commercial construction, with as many as 22% of the Companies of the expectation of higher activity.
This being said, the construction business is still the silver lining of the entire situation.
Since the sector has grown over the course of the year, it shows that people are still willing to invest in housing. There are all sorts of delays being incurred because of the shortage of raw material and resources, as well as price inflations, but people are still willing to invest in housing. This may be used as a cheering point for other sectors too.
Other affected domains
Amongst all the uncertainty prevailing in the country about the vaccine, the status of future lockdowns and the possible eradication of the pandemic, the hospitality industry has suffered immensely, and this could be a reason for low confidence. The economy has suffered greatly at the peak season and the current volatile state of the market may not bring respite in this area.
The freight disruptions and delays are another causes for concern. There is also an acute shortage of skilled labour, which is another major problem. On the other hand, the low turnover recorded remains to be an issue of concern.
A conclusive take
ANZ believes that though the current confidence has been hit hard and it is difficult to completely decipher, there’s light at the end of the tunnel. After having fought several challenges in the past year, the county is now looking forward to vaccine roll-outs and consequent border relaxations, which could potentially be the game-changer for the scenario and help place the country’s economy in a more comfortable position.
