The Australian Industry Group Australian Performance of Manufacturing Index (Australian PMI ®) moved up by 0.9 points to 46.3 points in March (seasonally adjusted). This indicated a fourth consecutive month of contraction in activity (readings below 50 points indicate contraction) across the manufacturing sector following a brief stabilisation in November 2014. The Australian PMI® typically ‘leads’ ABS data for manufacturing output by around 3 months. Recent results from the Australian PMI® suggest growth in manufacturing output (measured as ‘value added’ by the ABS) is likely to be slightly negative again in the ... (full story)