Overview
- Australia’s S&P Global manufacturing PMI held at 51.6 in December, indicating continued but modest expansion.
- Australian manufacturers increased hiring at the fastest pace in nine months as workloads rose.
- Delivery times in Australia lengthened at the sharpest rate in over a year, contributing to faster input inflation and higher output prices.
- South Korea’s PMI edged up to 50.1, snapping two months of contraction on stronger export orders and new product launches.
- South Korean new orders rose and business optimism hit its highest since May 2022, even as output fell and input costs jumped to the fastest pace since July 2022.