Australia's Judo Bank Composite PMI for November declines to 46.4 vs. October's 47.6, a 27-month low

• Australia's PMI indexes broadly print below previous, highlighting Australia's "soft landing" scenario.
• Composite, Business Activity, and Manufacturing PMIs all hit multi-year lows in November.

Australia's Judo Bank Flash Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for November showed declines across the board, with the Composite PMI hitting a 27-month low of 46.4 compared to October's 47.6.

Australia's Services PMI Business Activity also declined to 46.3 versus October's 47.9, a 26-month low for the indicator. On the positive side, the Manufacturing PMI Output Index hit a 2-month high of 47.2 compared to the previous month's 45.8, while Australia's Manufacturing PMI is approaching a four-year low after printing at 47.7 versus October's 48.2, its worst reading in 42 months.

According to Warren Hogan, Chief Economic Advisor at Judo Bank: “The Judo Bank Flash PMI provides further evidence that the slowdown in Australian economic activity extended into November. The flash composite output index fell to 46.4 in November from a final reading of 47.6 in October. This is the lowest reading for the composite output index in the 8-year survey history, outside of pandemic lockdowns."

“The November result follows a decline in October and all but confirms that the economy is experiencing a soft landing, consistent with the RBA’s narrow path. It is important to note that we are still seeing no real signs of a hard landing in the survey," added Hogan.

Market Reaction

The Aussie (AUD) is seeing thin trading early in the Thursday market session, trading closely to 0.6540 against the US Dollar (USD) despite the soft reading, and the AUD/USD remains down about 0.25% from Wednesday's opening bids of 0.6557.