Manufacturing expanded in February; inventory build up worth watching

Manufacturing expanded in February; inventory build up worth watching
Paul McBeth
By Paul McBeth March 15 (BusinessDesk) - New Zealand's manufacturing activity continued to expand in February, although a build-up in inventories may indicate slower production in the future, Bank of New Zealand economist Craig Ebert says.  The BNZ-Business NZ performance of manufacturing index increased 0.7 of a point to a seasonally adjusted 53.7 in February, and was up from a 53.5 reading in the same month a year earlier. A reading above 50 indicates activity is expanding. The production sub-index climbed 2.6 points to 53.9 and new...