NZ manufacturing activity ends 2016 with above-average reading

NZ manufacturing activity ends 2016 with above-average reading
Sophie Boot
By Sophie Boot Jan. 19 (BusinessDesk) - New Zealand manufacturing activity finished 2016 above its long-term average, unchanged in December from a month earlier.  The Bank of New Zealand-BusinessNZ performance of manufacturing index was unchanged at a seasonally adjusted 54.5 last month from November, with three of the five sub-indices rising. A reading of 50 separates expansion from contraction, with the long-term average at 53.2. The PMI averaged 56 throughout the year, the second-highest annual average since the survey began in 2002, s...