The National Australia Bank's business confidence index rose 9 points to a record 26 points in April compared with March, the bank said Monday.
It implied "conditions will remain solid in the near term amid the strength in capacity utilization and forward orders, which both toppled previous highs. Confidence improved in all industries, led by a pickup in retail. Also, business conditions reset last month's record high," it said.
By sector, large increases were seen in mining and the service sectors with finance, business and property now the strongest nonmining industry. Manufacturing, wholesale, and recreation also reported improving conditions. "It looks like we have moved past the rebound phase of the recovery and are now seeing healthy growth in most of the economy," NAB chief economist Alan Oster said.
Meanwhile, businesses are heading into the federal budget in an upbeat mood with both confidence and conditions reaching records in April. Australia delivers its budget Tuesday.
Retail spending figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed a 1.3% increase in March, only a touch below the 1.4% reported in earlier preliminary figures. However, sales fell 0.5% over the March quarter, following a 2.4% increase in the previous quarter.
The ABS said the quarterly fall was driven by household spending patterns gradually returning to pre-pandemic levels.
A new study has found employment and hours worked have held steady despite the removal of support measures that were in place during the heat of the pandemic. Both the JobKeeper wage subsidy scheme and JobSeeker coronavirus supplements ended in March.
