Australia Manufacturing PMI Climbs To 56.0 In December - Markit

(RTTNews) - The manufacturing sector in Australia continued to expand in December, and at a faster pace, the latest survey from Markit Economics showed on Wednesday with a five-month high manufacturing PMI score of 56.0.

That's up from 55.8 and it moves further above the boom-or-but line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.

Individually, new order growth hit a 25-month high and employment expanded at the fastest rate in just under three years. On the price front, there were stronger increases in both purchasing costs and factory gate charges.

The report also showed that the services PMI rose from 55.1 to 57.4 and the composite climbed from 54.9 to 57.0 - both also five-month highs.