March 1, 2021
Six of the seven activity indices in the Australian PMI expanded in February (readings above 50 points indicate expansion in activity, with higher results indicating a faster rate of expansion). Only the stocks (inventories) index contracted (down 5.6 points to 48.0), perhaps because of buoyant sales in the month (up 15.7 points to 62.2). Production, sales, employment and new orders all improved from the December and January period, with the new orders index (up 5.3 points to 59.9) indicating further strong production in the coming months. “Australia’s manufacturers lifted production and employment in February as sales recovered a large share of the ground lost in 2020,” said Ai Group Chief Executive Innes Willox. “Growth was distributed broadly across manufacturing with particular strength among producers of machinery & equipment and chemical products.” Five of the six manufacturing sectors in the Australian PMI expanded in February, with only the metal products sector reporting mildly negative conditions (down 0.8 points to 48.7).…
