Australia AiG Performance of Services Index rose 7.5 pts to 51.4 in August. That’s a return to mildly positive conditions following a weak month in July. Also, trading conditions for some businesses picked up, returning to similar levels seen earlier in the year.
Looking at some details, there were expansions in four of eight services sectors in trend terms. However, among the business-oriented sectors, only finance & insurance reported positive results. Among the consumer-oriented segments, the ‘health, education & community services’ sector was strongest and the retail trade sector continued to perform very weakly.
