New Zealand manufacturing rises in April, employment levels highest in 4 years
The Bank of New Zealand-Business NZ's seasonally adjusted Performance of Manufacturing Index (PMI) edged higher to 53.9 in April from 53.2 in March. New orders rose to 51.4 from a revised 49.8 in the prior month.
A reading above 50 indicates manufacturing activity is expanding, while anything below that threshold points to contraction.
"Activity is not surging, but a manufacturing recovery seems to be underway ... That said, there remain questions around how sustainable it is given uncertainty stemming from offshore," BNZ Senior Economist Doug Steel said in a statement.
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