Australia Services PMI Sinks Into Contraction - S&P Global

(RTTNews) - The services sector in Australia fell into contraction territory in October, the latest survey from S&P Global revealed on Wednesday with a services PMI score of 48.5.

That's down from 51.9 in September, and it slips beneath the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.

The rate at which new business grew was the slowest in the current four-month expansion sequence and only modest. Higher interest rates and a lack of market confidence reportedly dampened demand growth in October.

The survey also showed that the composite index fell to 48.2 in October from 51.3 in September.

Incoming new business continued to rise, albeit at a slower and only marginal pace. Growth was mainly driven by domestic sources as new export orders were unchanged in October. Meanwhile, higher outstanding workloads triggered a renewed increase in employment, though this was limited to the service sector. Business optimism remained subdued.