AiG Performance of Services PMI for March 2015
Comes in at 50.2 after 51.7 in February.
Key points from AiG:
- Much of the growth was again concentrated in the health and community and financial and insurance services sub-sectors, while retail trade also expanded
- The three-month moving average increased to 50.6 points this month, signalling the first expansion since April 2014
- Recent results suggest growth in Australian demand for goods and services (as measured by the ABS in the National Accounts as 'domestic final demand') may have picked up moderately in the 2015 March quarter
- Three of the five activity sub-indexes expanded
- New orders and employment sub-indexes expanded for a third month
- Sales also returned to expansion following a brief contraction in February
- Supplier deliveries contracted in March after expanding last month
- Businesses reduced their stock levels for a 10th consecutive month
- Four of the nine services sub-sectors showed expansion this month
- The very large health and community services sub-sector (57.5 points, three-month moving averages) expanded for a fifth month in March
- Finance and insurance services sub-sector expanded for a third month (73.0 points)
- Personal and recreational services (50.4 points) also expanded
- Retail trade (52.6 points) expanded for the first time since September 2014
- All other services subsectors contracted in March
- Despite the benefits from a lower Australian dollar and a pickup in residential building activity over the past year, respondents to the Australian PSI® expressed ongoing concerns about weak local economic conditions, fragile consumer and business sentiment, a low appetite for investment by both the public and private sectors, as well as political uncertainties in Canberra and in New South Wales ahead of the state election.
