Ai Group’s Australian Performance of Manufacturing Index (Australian PMI) increased by 4.8 points to 53.2 in February, indicating minor improvements and a return to positive territory following a significant drop in the December 2021-January 2022 report.
According to the report, four of the seven activity indices in the Australian PMI increased in February, with the production (up 2.7 points to 54.6), new orders (up 8.5 points to 59.8), and completed stocks (up 3.4 points to 55.9) indexes all increasing at a faster pace.
Supplier deliveries rose slightly but remained in contraction (up 11.2 points to 49.0), while employment (down 1.9 points to 43.5) and exports (down 2.5 points to 42.6) remained in negative territory.
Metal products (up 2.8 points to 51.6) and TCF, paper & printing products (up 0.3 points to 52.3) reported modest expansion in February, while chemicals (up 5.4 points to 53.5) and machinery & equipment products (up 3.5 points to 57.0) were relatively strong.
Although the relatively big food and beverage sector improved, it remained in decline (up 9.3 points to 47.4).
In February, the input prices index declined 6.7 points to 75.6, indicating that, on average, input price rises slowed compared to the previous holiday period.
Selling prices increased (up 6.8 points to 71.6), reversing the temporary drop reported in December 2021-January 2022.
The average salaries index improved slightly (up 1.4 points to 64.9), indicating that the economy continued in solid expansion and above its long-run average (58.9 points).
