Latest news with #PerformanceofManufacturingIndex
RNZ News
3 days ago
- Business
- RNZ News
'Early signs of life in the economy' despite services contraction
The services sector continues to shrink. Photo: mrdoomits/123RF The services sector continues to shrink, albeit at its slowest pace in three months, as firms' sentiment turned less sour. The BNZ - BusinessNZ Performance of Services Index (PSI) rose 1.3 points to 48.9 in July, compared to June's 3.3-point rise on the back of a dismal May. Anything below 50 points indicated contraction, and the index remained well below its long-run average of 52.9 and in contraction for 17 consecutive months. BNZ senior economist Doug Steel said that "combined with recent improvement in the Performance of Manufacturing Index (PMI) , electronic card transactions and ANZ's Truckometer, there are accumulating early signs of life in the economy". Four of the five sub-index results showed improvement, but sales and deliveries remained in contraction, while new orders held steady and stock levels expanded. Employment remained the weakest link, falling again and has been in contraction for 20 straight months. "As New Zealand's largest employer, the service sector has a major bearing on the broader labour market," Steel said. But he said, as was often in any sort of economic recovery, the labour market tended to take longer to recover. Firms were also less negative in July, but said consumers spent less due to high interest rates and cost-of-living issues, and cited other challenges like weather and rising costs for their negative future outlook. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Business Times
6 days ago
- Business
- Business Times
New Zealand manufacturing activity expands in July: survey
[SYDNEY] Manufacturing activity in New Zealand rose in July, returning to levels of expansion seen during early 2025 after new orders and production metrics hit the highest level in three years, a survey showed on Friday. The Bank of New Zealand-Business NZ's seasonally adjusted Performance of Manufacturing Index (PMI) increased to 52.8 in July from a revised 49.2 in June. The new orders index rose to 54.2 from a revised 51.8 in the prior month. A reading above 50 indicates manufacturing activity is expanding, while anything below that threshold points to contraction. 'Given the prevailing headwinds it is, perhaps, even more encouraging that the PMI has moved back into expansion. It will need to be sustained or nudge a bit higher to be consistent with our economic forecasts,' BNZ senior economist Doug Steel said. REUTERS
Business Times
13-06-2025
- Business
- Business Times
New Zealand manufacturing contracts in May amid economic uncertainties
[SYDNEY] Manufacturing activity in New Zealand fell back into contraction in May, after four straight months of expansion, because of weak demand, rising costs and low business confidence amid global economic uncertainties, a survey showed on Friday. The Bank of New Zealand-Business NZ's seasonally adjusted Performance of Manufacturing Index (PMI) dipped to 47.5 from a revised 53.3 in April. New orders slumped to 45.3 from a revised 50.8 in the prior month. A reading above 50 indicates manufacturing activity is expanding, while anything below that threshold points to contraction. 'The New Zealand economy can claw its way forward over the course of 2025, but the PMI is yet another indicator that suggests an increased risk that the bounce in GDP ... could come to a grinding halt,' BNZ senior economist Doug Steel said. AFP
Time of India
16-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
New Zealand manufacturing rises in April, employment levels highest in 4 years, ET Manufacturing
Advt Manufacturing activity in New Zealand rose in April helped by an uptick in new orders, while employment touched its highest level of expansion since July 2021, a survey showed on 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.
New Straits Times
16-05-2025
- Business
- New Straits Times
New Zealand manufacturing rises in April, employment levels highest in 4 years
SYDNEY: Manufacturing activity in New Zealand rose in April helped by an uptick in new orders, while employment touched its highest level of expansion since July 2021, a survey showed on Friday. 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.
