WELLINGTON (Reuters) – New Zealand’s manufacturing sector contracted again in August and is well below its long-term average, a survey showed on Friday.
The Bank of New Zealand-BusinessNZ’s seasonally adjusted Performance of Manufacturing Index (PMI) fell to 46.1 in August from a revised 46.6 in July. New orders edged higher to 46.6 from 45 in the prior month.
A reading above 50 indicates manufacturing activity is expanding, while anything below that threshold points to contraction.
The August result told the tale of another tough month for the sector, BusinessNZ’s director of advocacy, Catherine Beard, said in a statement.
(Reporting by Lucy Craymer; Editing by Chris Reese)