The manufacturing sector in Australia continued to expand in July, albeit at a lower pace, the latest survey from S&P Global said on Friday with a manufacturing PMI score of 55.7.
That's down from 56.2 in June, although it remains above the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.
Solid expansions in new orders were recorded and underpinned by strong underlying demand conditions as well as expansions into new markets. Moreover, the rate of growth in foreign demand was the fastest in nine months.
Concurrently, employment levels across Australia's manufacturing sector improved for the twenty-first month running and at an accelerated rate. Anecdotal evidence suggested that firms increased their staffing levels to meet current demand levels.
The survey also showed that the services PMI fell to 50.4 in July from 52.6 in June, while the composite PMI slipped to 50.6 from 52.6 a month earlier.
The overall slowdown mainly reflected a weaker improvement within Australia's service sector, while manufacturing output growth was unchanged.
New orders also recorded decelerated growth with anecdotal evidence suggesting that the effects of interest rate hikes and sustained inflationary pressures were beginning to be felt in the form of lower levels of demand.
