Australia Manufacturing PMI Moves To Expansion In January - Judo Bank

(RTTNews) - The manufacturing sector in Australia climbed up into expansion territory in January, the latest survey from Judo Bank revealed on Wednesday with a manufacturing PMI score of 50.3.

That's up from 47.6 in December and it moves above the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.

Supporting the rise in the headline PMI index was a marked deterioration in lead times, with suppliers' delivery times having lengthened to the largest extent since August 2022 amid mentions of shipping delays due to port congestions and conflicts in the Middle East.

Also, the services PMI improved to 47.9 in January from 47.1 in December and the composite index rose to 48.1 from 46.9.

Incoming new business continued to fall at the start of the year, but the pace of contraction moderated to the slowest since new orders began decreasing last October. Softer new business declines in both the manufacturing and service sectors underpinned the latest change. A similar picture was seen for foreign demand, as new export business fell only slightly in January.