Manufacturing picks up
Manufacturing activity lifted slightly in June but continued to hover round the threshold mark between expansion and
decline, according to the ANZ-Business NZ Performance of Manufacturing Index released today.
The June PMI was 53.2, up from 49.6 in May (a PMI reading above 50 points indicates manufacturing is generally
expanding; below 50 indicates it is contracting).
It was the first time since March that manufacturing has shown general expansion.
All five sub-indexes, production, employment, new orders, finished stocks and deliveries, recorded expansion.
However manufacturers noted a slowing in demand and commented on compliance costs and the high New Zealand dollar.
New Zealand's PMI performance in June - moving towards modest expansion after two months of decline - returns it to a
level similar to that prevailing in Australia.