CANBERRA: Activity levels across Australia’s manufacturing sector continued to expand last month, providing further evidence that Australia’s economic rebalancing is continuing to strengthen. The Ai Group’s performance of manufacturing index (PMI) came in at 53.4, down on the 12-year high of 58.1 struck in the prior month.
The index measures changes in activity levels from one month to the next. Anything above 50 signals growth, while anything below that level means contraction -— so the higher the number the better.
Although weaker than the figure reported in March, at 53.4, the reading still indicates a solid acceleration in activity levels during the month, continuing the trend seen since July last year. At 10 months, the consecutive stretch of expansion is now the longest seen since September 2006. It also left the series’ 3-month moving average at 55.0, the highest level seen since July 2007.
