Australia Services PMI Improves To 49.1 In January - Judo Bank

(RTTNews) - The services sector in Australia continued to contract in January, albeit at a slower pace, the latest survey from Judo Bank showed on Monday with a services PMI score of 49.1.

That's up from 47.1 in December, although it remains beneath the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.

Incoming new business for Australian services was broadly unchanged at the start of the new year as increased new enquiries mostly offset instances where lower demand was reported due to high interest rates and softening economic conditions. Foreign demand continued to deteriorate on the back of reduced budgets and supply issues, although the rate of decline eased in January.

Australian service providers also continued to work through their outstanding business, which fell for a nineteenth straight month at the start of the year. This coincided with increased workforce capacity as firms continued to hire to cope with ongoing workloads.