Australia Manufacturing PMI Climbs To 57.3 In October - Markit

(RTTNews) - The manufacturing sector in Australia continued to expand in October, and at a faster pace, the latest survey from Markit Economics showed on Friday with a manufacturing PMI score of 57.3.

That's up from 56.8 in September, and it moves further above the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.

Output and new order growth accelerated in their second consecutive months of expansion amid reports of better economic conditions and confidence by survey respondents. As a result, employment levels and buying activity continued to expand.

The survey also showed that the services PMI climbed to 52.0 in October from 45.5 in September, while the composite rose to 52.2 from 46.0 a month earlier.

Hiring activity was seen in the service sector for a second straight month, just as backlogged work started to build again after three months of decline. This was also as service providers' business confidence improved to the highest level since February.