The CBA / Markit preliminary Manufacturing PMI for December was 49.4 from the prior of 49.9

Terrible result. Even worse than the preliminary result had indicated.

'Key points' highlighted in the report, and bolding is mine:

  • a steeper deterioration of Australian manufacturing conditions
  • The headline PMI was dragged down by survey-record falls in both new orders and output.
  • The weakening sales trend led to a further development of spare capacity which, in turn, contributed to a fall in employment.
  • Firms also cut back on both purchasing activity and input inventories. Meanwhile, input price inflation eased while output charges rose modestly.
cba pmi

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The AUD charged higher over the Christmas / New Year holiday period. With results like this indicated from the real economy its a head scratcher indeed.