AIG Performance of Services index for September
- Services PMI down for the month to 52.3, from 55.6 in August
Last week we got the manufacturing PMI for Australia, a 3rd consecutive expansion
Key findings from AiG:
- Conditions across the services sector have been mostly positive in 2015
- PSI expanding in six of the nine months of 2015 to date
- The current four-month run of expansion in the PSI is the longest such period of continuous expansion since March 2008
- Three of the five activity sub-indexes expanded in September, the same as in August. Employment slipped in September after rising in the previous two months, while stock levels expanded to stable, after reducing in August.
- Six of the nine services sub-sectors grew in September, up from five in August. This suggests that positive trading conditions are becoming more broad-based. Most notably, the transport and storage sub-sector's index improved to a stable, with its first month out of contraction and its strongest result since July 2012
- Respondents suggested better housing market activity continues to benefit a range of household services in NSW and to a lesser extent elsewhere. A handful of respondents pointed to a better political environment also supporting consumer confidence and sales. Local tourism, retail and other consumer services are noticing the benefits of the lower dollar, but are also noticing higher imported input prices for the goods that they need to buy
- For the more business-to-business oriented sub-sectors, respondents in Queensland noted that local drought conditions are detracting from demand, while Victorian respondents said the current lack of major infrastructure projects is dampening demand for local business services.
