The manufacturing sector in Australia continued to expand in November, albeit at a slower pace, the latest survey from S&P Global revealed on Thursday with a manufacturing PMI score of 51.3.
That's down from 52.7 in October, although it remains above the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.
Production at Australia's manufacturing firms expanded for the tenth month running in November, underpinned by higher demand. That said, the rates of growth for both new orders and output decelerated midway into the fourth quarter. While general demand conditions continued to improve, higher costs and supply issues reportedly continued to weigh on the manufacturing sector in November.
As a result of the slowdown in overall demand, Australian manufacturers pared back their purchasing activity in November. Some firms reported sufficient inventories holdings, thereby lowering their need to buy more goods. Subsequently, stocks of purchases fell for a third month running in November.
