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Australia's inconsistent economy pushes business confidence down: report

Xinhua, April 23, 2015 Adjust font size:

Australian business confidence in the "patchwork economy" they operate was down in the first quarter of 2015, according to bank analysis.

The National Australia Bank (NAB) said on Thursday its business confidence index had fallen 2 points to zero compared to its last quarterly report.

The report stated there was unease in the business market about Australia's so-called "patchwork economy" which lacked across the board consistency.

A lower Australian dollar, cheaper oil prices, and the Reserve Bank of Australia's interest rate cut in February appeared to do little to boost confidence.

"The survey continues to show a patchwork economy, with much of the strength restricted to a narrow subset of industries," the bank said in its report.

The services sector and the construction sector continued to outperform, but the mining industry was suffering from the slump in commodity prices.

So far the manufacturing and wholesale industry had not received a significant boost from a lower Australian dollar, which make Australian exports cheaper on the world market. Endi