S&P Global/Judo Bank services and composite PMIs are strong for September.
From the commentary to the report (in brief):
- a surge in output driven by a lift in services sector activity
- continued stability of PMI price indices, especially input prices, suggests that inflation will remain high and uncomfortable for the rest of 2023
- the magnitude of the increase suggests that services sector activity is proving resilient to higher interest rates
- Sticky inflation and resilient services sector activity, evidenced by both the Judo Bank PMIs and official economic data releases, pose the question of whether the economy is slowing down enough to achieve the soft-landing forecast by the RBA
- Labour demand continues to prove resilient across both sectors, with the composite employment index rising slightly in September, well into expansion territory.
- The service sector is experiencing persistently high input cost inflation that exceeds pre-pandemic levels. The index rose slightly to 62.6 in September and has held close to this level for the past six months. With consumer demand proving more resilient in the services sector, elevated input cost pressures will likely keep upward pressure on final prices for the remainder of 2023.
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Preliminary and priors are here:
The manufacturing PMI for September: