The services sector in Australia continued to expand in May, albeit at a slower pace, the latest survey from Judo Bank revealed on Monday with a services PMI score of 52.1.
That's down from 53.7 in April, although it remains above the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.
New business growth accelerated in May, extending the period of sales expansion that began in April. Higher tourism activity coupled with new client wins underpinned the latest improvement, according to panelists. That said, new business wins were largely limited to the domestic economy as foreign demand recorded its first monthly decline this year, albeit marginally.
The survey also showed that the composite index slipped to 51.6 in May from 53.0 in April.
Driving the latest increase in composite output was an improvement in services activity as manufacturing output contracted. This was as higher demand for services contrasted with softening manufacturing new orders and reinforcing the divergence in performance between the two broad sectors covered by the survey.
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