Publication Summary
The performance of the Northern Territory economy remains mixed. SFD growth was the second strongest nationally in Q4 up 0.8%/qtr. However, growth was driven by a lift in public investment (+4.2%/qtr) with private investment contracting ( 0.2%/qtr). Annual SFD growth remains subdued, down 2.1%/yr. Household consumption excluding utilities outperformed this quarter (+0.5%/qtr) but tracks softer through the year (+2.4%/yr). Business investment also continues to disappoint and sits at the weakest pace annually, down 25.0%/yr. The NT labour market has the most slack of any jurisdiction, with the trend unemployment rate rising another 0.1pts to 4.7% in February. However, trend employment growth was solid, lifting 1.4%/yr and absorbing a 0.1 pts rise in the participation rate to 73.2%. The Darwin housing market is also a bright spot. Darwin dwelling prices have lifted a strong 19.4% through the year to February 2026. Inflation remained firm in Q4 (+0.7%/qtr, +3.3%/yr). Weekly fuel price data indicates Darwin has seen the sharpest rise in petrol prices of any capital city in March following the beginning of the Iran war. Regional NT is also witnessing the highest diesel prices in Australia. CommBank weekly card spend data shows consumers have reacted, with metro and regional spending in the NT pulling back over the last few weeks of March.