Manufacturing activity rises to decade high in December

Manufacturing activity rises to decade high in December
By Suze Metherell Jan. 22 (BusinessDesk) - Activity in New Zealand's manufacturing sector rose last month to its highest level in a decade. The BNZ-Business NZ performance of manufacturing index rose to a seasonally adjusted 57.7 last month, the highest reading for a December month since 2004, and up 2.1 points from November's 55.2 reading. Meanwhile, the annual average reading was 56, unchanged from a year earlier. The index, where a reading above 50 indicates growing activity, has been in expansion for the past 27 months. Manufacturi...