Australia Services PMI Climbs To 57.0 In December - Markit

(RTTNews) - The services sector in Australia continued to expand in December, and at a faster pace, the latest survey from Markit Economics revealed on Wednesday with a five-month high services PMI score of 57.0.

That's up from 55.1 in November and it moves further above the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.

Individually, there was a faster increase in new business, while growth in employment levels was sustained and business expectations remained high.

Although softening from a two-year high in November, the rate of input cost inflation remained marked. The rise in input prices was largely attributed to greater staff costs. Businesses partially passed on higher costs to clients by raising selling prices for the second month in a row.

The survey also showed that its composite index improved to 55.6 in December from 54.9 in November.