(30 May 2019 – Australia) Australian private sector business investment fell unexpectedly in early 2019, missing market expectations for an increase of 0.5 percent.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), private sector capital expenditure (CAPEX) fell 1.7 percent to $29.9 billion in the March quarter. Year on year, CAPEX fell by 1.9 percent.
While the CAPEX survey captures around 60 percent of business investment it does exclude key industries such as agriculture, health and education.
Adding to downside risks for Australia’s Q1 GDP report next week, CAPEX on equipment, plant and machinery fell 0.5% to #13.8 billion, trimming the increase over the past year to 2.8 percent.