Australia AiG Performance of Manufacturing index dropped to 58.3, seasonally adjusted, in October, down from 59.0. The Australian Industry Group noted in the release that the PMI now indicated twenty-five months of uninterrupted recovery and expansion, “longest run of recovery or expansion in this data series since 2005”. The broad based expansion was led by the wood and paper and the food & beverages sectors. And, the details suggested that manufacturing will “continue to expand for the rest of 2018 and into 2019.”
Also from Australia, trade surplus widened to AUD 3.02B in September.
