New Zealand Manufacturing Index Climbs To 49.3 - BusinessNZ

(RTTNews) - The manufacturing sector in New Zealand continued to contract in February, albeit at a slower pace, the latest survey from BusinessNZ showed on Friday with a Performance of Manufacturing Index score of 49.3.

That's up from the upwardly revised 47.5 reading in January (originally 47.3) although it remains beneath the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.

Among the individual components, deliveries (51.4) expanded, while employment was stagnant at 50.0 and production (49.1), new orders (47.8) and finished stocks (48.7) contracted.

"New Zealand's manufacturing sector is still in recession, but this month's PMI indicates there is light at the end of the tunnel. The 49.3 reading is within a smidgen of breakeven and the new orders to inventory differential provides support for an increase in production. Moreover, New Zealand's underperformance against the rest of the world is narrowing quickly," BNZ's Head of Research Stephen Toplis said.