Broad-based manufacturing pick-up offers silver lining

Fri, 15 Nov 2019

Manufacturing activity snapped three months of contraction in October, with a broad-based pick-up in demand strong enough to see firms burn through some of their inventories. The Bank of New Zealand-BusinessNZ performance of manufacturing index rose 3.8 points to 52.6 in October, and was a little below the 53 reading a year earlier. That gain brought the index back above the 50 level that separates expansion from contraction after three months of dwindling activity. The index showed a 5.3 point jump in new orders to 56.2, the highest...

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