The final read for these will be in around a week's time, preliminary indcations, all three are at 5 month lows:

Manufacturing 55.3

  • prior 57.7

Services 45.0

  • prior 55.1

Composite 45.3

  • prior 54.9

Commentary from Markit hitting on the familiar themes of supply shortage (goods and labour) and price pressures:

  • “The Australian economy had slipped from a state of strong recovery in end-2021 to being affected by the surge in COVID-19 infections at the start of 2022 according to the IHS Markit Flash Australia Composite PMI.
  • “Supply issues meanwhile remained prevalent, with lengthening of lead times, reports of supply shortages and labour constraints persisting and made worse by the latest surge in COVID-19 cases. This had led to input price inflation worsening which may well lead to further selling price pressures, especially when demand later recovers. Employment levels were unchanged in January, affected by both COVID-19 disruptions and difficulties in hiring.
  • “That said, there have been some early positive signs of COVID-19 infections peaking in Australia which may offer some hopes for a turnaround in the situation absent any further restrictions imposed.”

You'll recall last week's jobs report from Australia (for December) was another bonanza for jobs, but I was wary of how Omicron would impact the reports in January and February. Employment indicators from this Markit survey confirm:

  • employment levels were unchanged in January following four months of solid growth. Anecdotal evidence suggested that both the slowdown in demand and difficulties in hiring, across both the manufacturing and service sectors, led to the stagnation.