Australian business confidence has snapped three months of gains as uncertainty over the Middle East conflict and oil prices weighed on the outlook. Business confidence slid further into negative territory in July, according to a new National Australia Bank survey on Tuesday. “Overall, the business survey shows that while most survey indicators have largely normalised since the beginning of the Middle East conflict there remains a soft underbelly to the survey’s data,” NAB said. “Business conditions and confidence remain below their long-run averages, while forward orders have moved back into negative territory. “Further, though it rose sharply in the month, capacity utilisation in trend terms remains notably below the level seen in early 2026.”