Australia Services PMI Improves To 50.5 - S&P Global

(RTTNews) - The services sector in Australia moved into expansion territory in June, the latest survey from S&P Global revealed on Friday with a services PMI score of 50.5.

That's up from 48.7 in May and it moves above the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.

Some companies reported that rising staffing levels had helped them to expand business activity at the midway point of the year, and this was borne out by data on employment which showed renewed job creation during the month. Staffing levels rose for the 17th time in the past 18 months, albeit modestly. In some cases, new staff had been hired in anticipation of new projects.

The survey also showed that the composite index improved to 50.4 in June from 48.7 in May.

Higher staffing levels helped companies to expand output, with growth recorded despite a further reduction in new orders. Input costs continued to rise sharply, albeit with the rate of inflation softening from May. Meanwhile, the latest increase in selling prices was much weaker than seen in the previous month and the slowest since January.