Shrinking manufacturing activity in December may be poised for turnaround

Fri, 17 Jan 2020

New Zealand’s manufacturing activity contracted in December as production and new orders faltered but, the sector may be at a turning point if recent sentiment surveys are correct. The Bank of New Zealand-BusinessNZ performance of manufacturing activity index fell 1.9 points to 49.3, sliding back below the 50 level that separates an expansion in activity from contraction.Production remained the biggest drag on manufacturers, with the sub-index slipping to a reading of 48.2 from 49.4 in November. New orders, meanwhile, moderated to 51 from...

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