Australia Manufacturing PMI Improves To 49.7 In May - Judo Bank

(RTTNews) - The manufacturing sector in Australia continued to contract, albeit at a slightly slower pace, the latest survey from Judo Bank revealed on Monday with a manufacturing PMI score of 49.7.

That's up marginally from 49.6 in April, although it remains beneath the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.

Manufacturing production and new orders in Australia both declined at slower rates in May, the softest in nine and ten months respectively. According to survey respondents, higher prices and subdued market conditions negatively affected demand, albeit to a smaller degree compared with April. In fact, new export orders rose for the first time since November 2022, with panelists reporting higher new work inflows from clients in the US, Europe and Asia.

With the downturn easing and an improvement in export conditions signaled, Australian manufacturers raised their workforce capacity in May. This marked the first increase in headcounts since last October, albeit only marginally. Firms were able to work through their backlogged orders at a sharper pace with more staff, thereby extending the sequence of depletion to one-and-a-half years.