The Kansas City Fed monthly manufacturing index rose to a reading of 10 in August from 9 in July, as expected in a survey compiled by Bloomberg as of 7:40 am ET.
The ISM's national manufacturing reading is scheduled to be released on Sept. 1.
Within the Kansas City data, there were index gains for new orders, prices paid and order backlogs but declines in the readings of shipments and employment while the production reading was unchanged.
Britain's total vehicle manufacturing dropped 11.6% year over year to 63,655 units in July, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said Thursday.Car production slipped 10.6% to 61,767 units, while commercial vehicle output slumped 34.4% to 1,888 units.For the seven months to July, total vehicle manufacturing fell 8.1% annually to 449,634 units.
Private new capital expenditure in Australia fell 3.6% in the June quarter in seasonally adjusted terms to nearly AU$51 million, according to a report released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) on Thursday.June experienced a decline in investment due to a 53% reduction in spending on information media and telecommunications equipment, following a near 200% increase in investment in server racks and processing equipment for data centers last quarter, said Tom Lay, ABS head of business statistics.Total capital expenditure remains 10.7% higher than last year despite the quarterly fall.Buildings and structures investment rose 2.1% in June to AU$25.8 million, with continued activity on data center construction to expand capacity, as well as the start of new renewable energy projects, Lay added.Meanwhile, equipment, plant and machinery investment declined 8.9% to AU$25.1 million, driven by an over 11% fall in non-mining equipment and machinery, per the report.
Australia's household spending rose 1.1% month over month to AU$82.34 billion in July on a current price, seasonally adjusted basis, following a 1% increase in June, the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported on Thursday.Compared with the prior year period, household spending rose 7% in July.All nine spending categories rose in the month, led by clothing and footwear, recreation and culture, as well as miscellaneous goods and services.Goods spending rose 0.7% month over month in seasonally adjusted current price terms, driven by higher expenditure on food, clothing and footwear, as well as medicines, medical aids and therapeutic appliances. Services spending increased by 1.5%, supported by gains in other services, catering services, and recreational and cultural services.Household spending rose in all eight states and territories in July, with the strongest increases recorded in the Northern Territory at 2.2%, Western Australia at 1.5%, and in Victoria at 1.3%.