Australian Industry Group Performance of Services Index, for March up 2.7 points to 51.7
- February was a 5.5 point drop to 49.0
AiG's key points:
- Three of the five activity sub-indexes indicated expansion in March (seasonally adjusted). Sales expanded in March (53.8). Employment grew solidly (55.0 points) and new orders improved to 52.3 points. Stocks continued to shrink in March (45.1 points) and supplier deliveries fell into contraction (46.3 points).
- Five of the nine services sub-sectors expanded in March (trend data). Property and business services continued to grow strongly (58.0) while finance and insurance (55.5) and wholesale trade (54.3 points) also experienced solid growth. Growth in retail trade was modest but steady (52.3 points) while personal and recreational services slowed in March, with its index falling 3.6 points to 51.3 points.
- Transport and storage (49.6) was stable again in March. Health and community services (47.8 points) contracted mildly, while Accommodation, cafes and restaurants (44.9 points) contracted for a fifteenth month, albeit at a slower pace. Communications services (42.0 points) shrank for a sixth month and at a faster rate than in February.
- Respondents noted that suppliers to the house construction and defence sectors experienced stronger demand, with low interest rates and stronger migration having a positive effect on their sales. In other sectors, respondents reported lower customer demand from households and increased discounting by competitors.
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- Earlier in the week we got the Manufacturing PMI (March): 57.5 (prior 59.3) from Australia
- The Construction PMI will follow on Friday this week
