The manufacturing sector in Australia continued to expand in May, albeit at a slower pace, the latest survey from S&P Global showed on Tuesday with a manufacturing PMI score of 55.3.
That's down from 58.8 in April, although it remains above the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.
This marked the twenty-fourth successive month in which conditions in the manufacturing sector strengthened, though at the slowest pace in four months.
Manufacturing production contracted in May following three months of growth with panelists linking the slowdown to flooding and COVID-19 related labor and supply News Release shortages. That said, new orders continued to expand, driving higher levels of employment and purchasing activity. Manufacturers also reported increasing their stocks of purchases to mitigate against price fluctuations and delays.
The survey also showed that the services PMI fell to 53.0 in May from 56.6 in April, while the composite PMI slipped to 52.5 from 55.9.
The easing of COVID-19 restrictions continued to support the expansions of new orders and business activity in May, though poor weather conditions and higher interest rates were blamed for the growth slowdown. New export business expanded for the third straight month following the easing of border restrictions.
