Key snips from the flash CBA PMI..........>

AUSTRALIA: Key snips from the flash CBA PMI surveys.

- "Two consecutive reads in the 20s is simply astonishing as well as concerning.

It is likely that only a

manufactured slowdown due to imposed restrictions could produce such results.

May should mark the low point in the PMIs and we would expect activity to lift

from here on a monthly basis. That said, it will be a long time before activity

returns to pre-COVID-19 levels. And deflationary pressures highlight the huge

amount of slack we have now in the economy."

- "Although output decreased at a softer pace than was recorded in April, the

rate of decline was the second-fastest since the survey began in May 2016.

Services again posted the sharper reduction in activity of the two broad sectors

covered, despite the rate of contraction easing from April's record. Meanwhile,

the downturn in the manufacturing sector intensified. New orders continued to

fall substantially as some easing of COVID-19 restrictions was insufficient to

prevent a further steep drop in demand."