Australia Commonwealth Bank / Markit Manufacturing PMI for December (final) comes in at 54.0

  • preliminary 53.7
  • prior 54.6

Major points:

continued expansion in overall new orders

  • robust demand conditions

export orders rising for a sixteenth straight month

strong rate of output expansion

capacity pressures were also evident among manufacturers

  • Backlogs accumulated for a fifth month running

signs of easing inflationary pressures

  • lower global oil prices
  • Input costs rose at the weakest pace for nearly a year

business confidence remained elevated

  • but slipped to the lowest in two-and-a-half years amid some concerns over the housing market

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AUD response is negligible, down a few tics after the data