The UK's manufacturing sector remained in the growth territory in April, benefiting from a continued increase in production and an improvement in new order intakes.
The final S&P Global UK Manufacturing PMI stood at 53.7 in April, against the previous 51 and the flash estimate of 53.6, S&P Global said Friday. The final reading marks a 47-month high and stands above the 50 neutral threshold for the sixth straight month.
Australia's producer prices, excluding exports, increased 0.4% in the March quarter, following a 0.8% rise in the December 2025 quarter, according to data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics published Friday.The main drivers of quarterly growth were property operators, up 1% amid strong demand and rising residential rents; petroleum refining and petroleum fuel manufacturing, up over 10% due to higher oil prices; and tertiary education services, which rose 2.2% due to annual fee adjustments, the report said.Selected producer price indexes rose across key sectors, including a 2.1% increase in manufacturing driven by non-ferrous metals, a 1% rise in construction driven by house building, and an increase in education and training services due to higher export fees in higher education.On an annual basis, final demand growth rose 3% in the year to the March quarter, down from a 3.7% increase a year earlier.
Japan's consumer confidence weakened in April, while expectations for higher prices edged up, according to government survey data released Friday.The seasonally adjusted consumer confidence index fell 1.1 points from the previous month to 32.2. The survey, conducted on April 15, covered 8,400 households and had a response rate of 75.5%.Among key components, the index for overall livelihood dropped 1.5 points to 28.2, while willingness to buy durable goods fell 2.8 points to 23.2. The employment outlook slipped 0.2 points to 37.4, and income growth expectations were unchanged at 39.8.Price expectations strengthened, with 93.6% of respondents expecting prices to rise over the next year, up 0.5 percentage points from the previous month.Those expecting prices to remain unchanged accounted for 2.3%, down 0.4 points, while the share expecting prices to fall was also 2.3%, down 0.2 points.
New Zealand's seasonally adjusted new dwellings consents fell 1.3% to 3,370 in March from 3,412 in the previous month, according to Stats NZ data on Friday.In actual terms, 3,677 new dwellings were consented, including 1,729 stand-alone houses, 1,556 townhouses, flats, and units, 127 retirement village units, and 265 apartments.New dwellings consented in the reported month rose 8.2% in actual terms compared with 3,398 in March 2025.In the 12 months ended March, the actual number of new dwellings consented was up 11% to 37,813 compared with the prior corresponding period."New home consents increased in the year ended March, following decreases in each of the previous three years," economic indicators spokesperson Michelle Feyen said.The regions with the highest increase in new home consents in the year ended March were Auckland, up 14%, Waikato, up 3.5%, and Wellington, up 3.8%.The annual value of non-residential building work consented in March rose 1.2% year-on-year to NZ$9 billion.