SYDNEY (XFN-ASIA) - Dun&Bradstreet Corp said its August business expectations survey, looking ahead to the December quarter 2006, shows that businesses are expecting a weak end to the calendar year with all sectors expecting negative growth.
The firm said the gloomy outlook for December is the second consecutive quarter businesses have signalled negative growth expectations on sales, profits and employment.
Although recent economic data shows that retail spending was strong in July due to widespread discounting, the D&B survey shows businesses don't expect retail sales strength to be sustained.
It said its survey showed that over the last month, a quarter of executives noticed signs of a slowdown in consumer spending, with only three pct seeing signs of an increase.
D&B said 43 pct of retailers reported a slowdown while only eight pct reported an increase.
D&B Australasia chief executive Christine Christian said that while the Australian economy looks set to continue to grow, business owners are concerned about recent interest rate rises and high oil prices.
"There is little doubt that deteriorating consumer sentiment due to domestic economic issues has been a prime factor behind this easing in business expectations," Christian said.
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