Australia AIG Feb performance of manufacturing index up 6.4 pts from Jan |
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Thu, 01 Mar 2007 00:05
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SYDNEY (XFN-ASIA) - The seasonally adjusted Australian Industry Group/PricewaterhouseCoopers performance of manufacturing index rose 6.4 points in February from January to 57.7, Australian Industry Group (AIG) said.It said the latest reading marked the seventh consecutive month of expansion in manufacturing activity. Index readings above 50.0 indicate expansion.AIG said at the national level, growth in production, new orders, inventories and supplier deliveries all accelerated in February.It said employment also increased moderately, following two consecutive months of decline.By contrast, the rate of increase in input costs eased slightly.AIG said exports were flat, after eight consecutive months of growth.Manufacturing activity expanded in all states other than Western Australia where the level of activity was essentially unchanged, largely reflecting persistent shortages of skilled labor and other capacity constraints, it said.AIG chief executive Heather Ridout said while the improvement reflects the broad trend over the past seven months, business conditions remained tough.'A broadly based and sustained upturn in domestic manufacturing is unlikely before there is a significant lift in consumer spending and residential construction activity,' Ridout said.She said as long as uncertainty over the direction of interest rates continues, manufacturing conditions are likely to remain volatile from month to month.The new orders sub-index increased a seasonally adjusted 8.3 points to 59.0, following only marginal growth in January while the inventories sub-index rose 6.4 points to 58.8.AIG said the supplier deliveries sub-index strengthened by 3.2 points to 57.4 while the employment sub-index increased 7.0 points to 55.6.bruce.hextall@xfn.comblh/mas
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