FX.co ★ Australia Services Sector Growth Slows in September

The S&P Global Australia Services PMI Business Activity Index declined to 52.4 in September from 55.8 in August. This indicates that while services activity is still growing—marking 20 consecutive months of expansion—it is doing so at the slowest rate since June. Growth was supported by robust client demand and effective business initiatives, both domestically and internationally, with Europe and the Asia-Pacific region notably contributing to a second straight month of increased overseas orders. To accommodate the surge in new business, companies have accelerated hiring, spurred by a better pool of available candidates, recording the swiftest job creation rate since April. Although backlogs have marginally increased for the first time in five months, mainly due to supply shortages, input costs have consistently risen. Consequently, companies have raised their output prices despite inflation reaching its lowest level in three months.