2026.03.2322:18:49UTC+00Australia Private Sector Set for Contraction in March

The S&P Global Flash Australia Composite PMI fell to 47.0 in March from 52.4 in February, indicating the first contraction in eighteen months amid deteriorating demand conditions. Services activity moved into decline, with the Services Business Activity Index dropping to 46.6 in March from 52.8 in February, while the Manufacturing PMI eased to 50.1 from 51.0. The slowdown reflected weaker growth in new business across both goods and services, even as overseas orders for manufactured goods rose at the fastest pace in more than three-and-a-half years.

Business sentiment stayed positive but fell to its weakest level since mid-2024. Employment continued to grow, though at a slower pace than in the previous month, and outstanding workloads were reduced for the first time in 2026. Cost pressures also picked up: input costs and selling price inflation both intensified compared with February, with manufacturing input cost increases reaching a three-and-a-half-year high and selling prices rising at the fastest rate since August 2023.