Australia Manufacturing Growth Eases In April

(RTTNews) - Australia's manufacturing activity continued to expand in April but the pace of growth softened as the improvement in demand was restricted to the domestic sector, final purchasing managers' survey data from S&P Global showed on Thursday.

The final manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index fell to 51.7 in April from 52.1 in March. The reading matched the flash estimate.

The score has remained above the neutral 50.0 mark for fourth consecutive month. Although the pace of growth eased from March's 29-month high, the growth remained among the fastest over the period.

The survey showed that greater inflows of new work contributed to higher production and manufacturers expanded workforce capacity to support growth in operations.

Despite rising headcounts, companies accumulated outstanding workloads in April. Increases in new work and production led to a second monthly rise in purchasing activity.

Although demand improved in April, optimism among manufacturers slipped to a six-month low.

Finally, data showed that input cost inflation increased further as foreign exchange volatility led to higher costs. In turn, firms raised their selling prices at the fastest rate since February 2023.