NZ manufacturing activity slows in July as dairy woes weigh

NZ manufacturing activity slows in July as dairy woes weigh
By Paul McBeth Aug. 13 (BusinessDesk) - New Zealand's manufacturing activity expanded at a slower pace in July as a downturn in the dairy sector started to weigh on industrial production, despite the support a weaker kiwi dollar offers exporters. The BNZ-BusinessNZ performance of manufacturing index fell to 53.5 last month from 55.1 in June, and was down from 54.1 a year earlier, where a reading of 50 separates expansion from contraction.  Trends in the sub-sectors of the index showed growth in inventories of finished stock while new o...