Services PMI roars into superboom

Hmm, grain of salt time, via AIG:

• The Australian Industry Group Australian Performance of Services Index (Australian PSI® ) rose 4.0 points to a record high 63.0 points (seasonally adjusted), indicating a faster rate of expansion in June compared to May. Results above 50 points indicate expansion, with higher numbers indicating stronger growth rates.

• The Australian PSI® has indicated positive conditions (results above 50 points) for sixteen consecutive months, and stable or expansionary results for 21 months.

• All of the activity sub-indexes in the Australian PSI® were positive (results over 50 points) in June 2018. New orders returned similar results to May, while sales moderated slightly but remained elevated. Employment accelerated with this sub-index up in June and marking thirteen months of expanding employment in the Australian PSI® . Supplier deliveries were strong, while inventories rose into growth in June.

• Capacity utilisation across the Australian PSI® fell just over half a percentage point to 81.3% of available capacity in June but remained well above its long-run average.

• The Australian PSI® indicated expansion in six of nine sub-sectors in June (trend). The predominantly business-oriented sub-sectors such as property, finance and transport reported solid demand from customers in construction and manufacturing; while the health sector also reported positive results.

• The more discretionary, mainly consumer-oriented sub-sectors continued to remain relatively weak in June. Retail trade contracted again, while hospitality was stable (trend). Businesses in these sub-sectors continue to report cautious discretionary spending due to rising costs and tighter disposable incomes.

Led by:

Dubious.