In August, the US NFIB small business confidence indicator rose from 91.2 to 92.9, while only a marginal increase (to 91.4) was expected. The breakdown shows an increase in the percent of firms reporting: plans to hire (10% from 5%), increased capital spending (24% from 21%), expect better economy (-2% from -8%), expect higher sales (1% from -4%), positions not able to fill (18% from 15%) and higher selling prices (9% from 8%).
The number of firms reporting plans to increase inventories (-1% from -1%) and inventory satisfaction (0% from 0%) stabilized while positive earnings trend (-28% from -27%), good time to expand (4% from 5%) and easing of credit conditions (-9% from -7%) fell slightly from the previous month. For the first time in four months, small business confidence increased in August mainly due to an improvement in their expectations for the coming six months, although small firms seem to remain cautious for now.