Australia's Manufacturing Decline Slows

Australia's manufacturing contraction slowed in June as the lowest interest rates in 49 years and government policy encouragedapeeared to boost domestic demand. The performance of manufacturing index rose 0.9 points from May to 38.4, marking the highest point in eight months. A reading below 50 shows that manufacturing is shrinking. The central bank has reduced the key interest rate by a record 4.25 percentage points since September to 3 percent. Australia together with India and China were the only countries among major economies that performed rise in the first quarter. Australia's survey asked more than 200 producing companies about production, new orders, deliveries, inventories and employment. According to this survey, manufacturing, which consists 10 percent of the economy, shrank for a 13th consecutive month in June.