Australia's AiG Industry Index recovers in January to -14.9 from -27.3

The Australia Industry Group (AiG) released its latest Industry Index for January, which showed a recovery in Australia's performance but still remains buried deep in contraction territory, printing at -14.9 compared to the previous month's -27.3.

According to AiG:

The new year contraction in the Australian Industry Index® eased in February, but the index remains in overall contraction.

February saw a modest improvement in upstream manufacturing and business services, but consumer facing industries (food and construction) posted slight drops.

Minor but continuing increased in the price indicators suggests that inflation in industrial products continues to be widespread.

Australia's AiG Construction Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) for January fell to 018.4 versus the previous -11.5, and the Manufacturing PMI as measured by AiG recovered to -12.6 compared to the previous month's -23.8.

About Australia's AiG Industry Index

The AiG Industry Index, released on a monthly basis by the Australian Industry Group, is a leading indicator gauging private-business activity in Australia. This indicator integrates the different sub-indexes calculated by the AiG, including the manufacturing, construction, and services sectors – industries that together account for 36% of the Australian economy. The Australian Industry Index is based on monthly surveys from a national sample of Australian businesses. A positive reading indicates that activity is expanding; negative indicates contraction. The distance from zero indicates the strength of the expansion or decline. A positive reading tends to be a bullish sign for the Australian Dollar (AUD). Meanwhile, a negative reading is seen as bearish for AUD.