Economic Buzz: Australia manufacturing PMI dips to 51.5 in February

The manufacturing sector in Australia continued to expand in February, albeit at a slower pace, the latest survey from S&P Global revealed on Friday with a manufacturing PMI score of 51.5.

That's down from 52.3 in January, although it remain above the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.

According to anecdotal evidence, stability in customer bases, new contract wins and a general pick-up in demand conditions underpinned a nineteenth consecutive monthly improvement in sales performances across the Australian private sector. Growth in overall new business slowed from January's 45-month high, but was still solid, nonetheless.

The survey also showed that the services PMI dropped to 52.2 in February from 56.3 in January, while the composite index fell to 52.0 from 55.7.

Although external demand continued to support the latest rise in total new work, export business increased at just a marginal pace, with manufacturers recording a slower rise than their service sector counterparts.

After having risen for the first time in nine months in January, there was no change in the volume of outstanding business in the latest survey period. The drop in manufacturing backlogs counterbalanced an accumulation at service providers.

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