Australia Services Sector Picks Up Steam In November - Markit

(RTTNews) - The services sector in Australia continued to expand in November, and at a faster pace, the latest survey from Markit Economics revealed on Friday with a services PMI score of 55.7.

That's up from 51.8 in October and it moves further above the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.

The rate at which business activity rose was the fastest since June, prior to when the COVID-19 Delta wave hit the Australian economy. Panelists widely noted that an easing of COVID-19 restrictions had enabled business conditions to improve in November.

Incoming new business rose for a second straight month in November and at the fastest pace in five months, with the Information & Communication sector exhibiting the strongest growth in demand.

The survey also showed that the composite index rose from 52.1 in October to 55.7 in November.

This indicated a faster rate of private sector output growth in November following three months of contraction between July and September.

Demand and output growth across both manufacturing and service sectors picked up in November, lifted by the effects of easing COVID-19 restrictions. Services output growth surpassed manufacturing for the first time in five months.