AIG Performance of Manufacturing index for April, is due at 2330GMT, but here it is early … another terrible result for the manufacturing sector in Australia:
- 44.8 (Down 3.1 points)
- prior was 47.9
- lowest reading since July 2013
- New orders dropped 10.5 points to 41.8
- Manufacturing production also slowed with a fall of 6.6 points to 42.6
- Manufacturing employment contracted at a faster pace in April (down 1.4 points to 43.6 points).
- Conditions remain extremely difficult in the sector’s export markets, with the exports sub-index remaining at around 30 points this month
- Across the manufacturing sub-sectors, four expanded and four contracted in April
- Food and beverages sub-sector expanded again this month (up 1.8 points to 55.2 points, three month moving average)
- The petroleum, coal, chemicals and rubber products (56.8 points), non-metallic minerals (58.5 points), and smaller wood and paper products (51.7 points) sub-sectors all expanded too, although their pace of expansion slowed notably this month
- The large metal products and machinery and equipment sub-sectors contracted again in April (three month moving averages), with the metal products sub-sector continuing a decline dating from September 2010. Manufacturing selling prices continued to contract – albeit at a slower pace (46.1) – and while wages and input prices only lifted moderately, the pressures on manufacturers’ margins intensified further.
AUD/USD not caring, barely budged; here’s today’s orderboard
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Despite the holiday in China today, at 0100GMT we get the official April China manufacturing PMI released today: expected is 50.5, prior was 50.3
