Australia Manufacturing PMI Slows In December - Markit

(RTTNews) - The manufacturing sector in Australia continued to expand in December, albeit at a slower pace, the latest survey from Markit Economics showed on Thursday with a manufacturing PMI score of 57.4.

That's down from 59.2 in November, although it remains well above the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.

Growth of manufacturing output and new orders both decelerated in December but remained at marked levels amid the further easing of COVID-19 restrictions in Australia. In turn, both employment levels and buying activity continued to expand with the former rising at a faster pace.

The survey also showed that the services index eased to 55.1 in December from 55.7 in November, while the composite dipped to 54.9 from 55.7 a month earlier.

Private sector firms saw business activity and new orders expand at solid rates in December as COVID-19 restrictions continued to ease. The rates of growth slowed from November, however, with some pent-up demand having been previously met and with supply constraint issues affecting output according to panelists. Growth in foreign demand for Australian private sector exports, however picked up into the year-end.