Australia Capital Expenditure Falls Unexpectedly

Australia’s capital expenditure declined unexpectedly in the second quarter, data published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed on Thursday.

Private new capital expenditure decreased 2.2 percent from the previous quarter, confounding expectations for an increase of 0.9 percent. This follows a 1.9 percent rise in the first quarter.

“Business investment fell 3.6 percent in the non-mining industries,” ABS head of business statistics Robert Ewing said. “This was partly offset by a rise in mining capex, which was up 1.5 per cent after falling in the last quarter,” said Ewing.

Capex was down 3.8 percent for buildings and structures, with the non-mining industries easing 7.7 percent. At the same time, new equipment and machinery decreased 0.5 percent.

On a yearly basis, total capital expenditure was up 0.3 percent in the June quarter.

The final estimate of capex for 2023-24 showed a rise of 10.2 percent compared to the previous year.

Further, businesses revised their expected capex spend for 2024-25 to be up by 10.3 percent since their last estimate.

“The manufacturing industry are expecting a major rise next year, with several large industrial projects ramping up investment,” Ewing said.