AUSTRALIAN MANUFACTURING ACTIVITY DOWN IN APRIL.

SYDNEY, May 1 Asia Pulse - Growth in Australia's manufacturing industry has declined for the second straight month as economic uncertainty weighs on production growth, new figures show.

The Australian Industry Group-PricewaterhouseCoopers Australian Performance of Manufacturing Index (PMI) fell 0.7 points to 51.7 index points in April.

The result was down from 52.4 points in March and a peak of 56.2 points in February, but remained above the 50 level separating growth from contraction.

Ai Group chief executive Heather Ridout said an upturn in manufacturing activity had been held back by continuing soft demand conditions, uncertainty in relation to interest rates and the jump in the Australian dollar.

"While cost and consumer price pressures appear to have abated in recent months - diminishing the threat of an imminent increase in interest rates - the strength of the exchange rate is a real issue," she said.

"Manufacturers will be looking to the Federal Government, through its foreshadowed industry statement and next week's Federal Budget, to deliver concrete measures to help strengthen the international competitiveness of the industry and strengthen its engagement with the global economy."

The PMI showed that production growth dropped 3.3 points to 50.1 index points in April to record its weakest result since May last year.