Australia's Private Sector Set for Slower Growth in February

2026-02-19 22:05 By Felipe Alarcon 1 min. read

The S&P Global Flash Australia Composite PMI fell to 52.0 in February from 55.7 in January, signaling expansion for a seventeenth month but at a softer pace than the start of 2026.

Services activity eased, with the Services Business Activity Index at 52.2 in February compared with 56.3 in January, while the Manufacturing PMI slipped to 51.5 from 52.3 as both goods and services new business growth cooled and overseas orders for manufactured goods rose only marginally.

Business sentiment remained positive but weakened to its lowest since mid 2024, and employment accelerated as firms hired to meet workloads with hiring reaching an 11-month high, while outstanding workloads were unchanged after rising in January.

Input cost pressures and selling price inflation intensified from January, with manufacturing cost rises noted as a clear upside risk and both costs and charges at their highest since September 2025.



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