Australia Manufacturing PMI Improves To 47.3 - Judo Bank

(RTTNews) - The manufacturing sector in Australia continued to contract in October, albeit at a slower rate, the latest survey from Judo Bank revealed on Friday with a manufacturing PMI score of 47.3.

That's up from 46.7 in September, although it remains beneath the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.

Subdued market conditions underpinned another reduction in new orders for Australian manufactured goods in October. This extended the sequence of new order contraction to nearly two years. The rate of reduction was sharp but slower than in September, whereas export orders declined at a more pronounced pace amid a lowering of demand from key export markets.

Lower new orders led to another sharp downturn in production, although the pace of decline eased from September. Additionally, Australian manufacturers cleared their volume of outstanding work at the fastest pace since data collection began for the survey in May 2016.