March 1, 2019
The Australian PMI has been stable or positive (readings above 50 points indicate expansion in activity, with the distance from 50 indicating the strength of the increase) since August 2016 (30 consecutive months), but its trend has suggested slowing growth rates since its recent peak in March 2018. Six of the seven activity indexes expanded in February, with only finished stocks indicating contraction (down 3.2 points to 44.5). New orders (down 0.3 points to 52.0) and deliveries from suppliers (down 2.7 points to 52.9) stayed positive but moderated, while production (up 3.9 points to 57.9) and employment (up 6.6 points to 57.7) strengthened markedly. “Australia’s manufacturing sector strengthened in February after faltering in the closing months of 2018 and clawing back some lost ground in January,” said Ai Group Chief Executive Innes Willox. “Production, sales, exports and employment all gained ground. While positive, manufacturing performance is not back at the levels we saw in the first half of 2018 and…
