Australia's services activity grew the most in a year in April and growth in retail sales doubled in March driven by the combined growth in the food-related spending, separate data showed Wednesday. The Judo Bank Australia services Purchasing Managers' Index rose sharply to 53.7 in April from 48.6 in March, survey data from S&P Global revealed. A score above the neutral 50.0 indicates expansion. The rate of services activity growth was the fastest in a year and also above the seven-year survey average. The latest expansion was led by consumer services. Four in five sectors registered growth in April.
Data published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed that retail sales grew 0.4 percent in March from February when turnover was up 0.2 percent.
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May 22, 2026 14:46 ET Minutes of the latest Fed policy session was the highlight of the week along with survey data on the U.S. housing market. In Europe, survey data signaled the trends in the euro area private sector. Further, consumer price inflation data from the U.K. was in focus. In Asia, various economic indicators from China drew attention to the health of the economy.