PMI slips in April as Australian weakness weighs on manufacturers

PMI slips in April as Australian weakness weighs on manufacturers
By Suze Metherell May 14 (BusinessDesk) - New Zealand manufacturing activity fell for the second consecutive month in April, while still remaining in expansion, as slowing economic growth in Australia weighed on trans-Tasman firms.  The BNZ-BusinessNZ performance of manufacturing index fell to a seasonally adjusted 51.8 from 54.6 in March. The index has been in expansion, at a level above 50, for 30 consecutive months on a seasonally adjusted basis. "Although the proportion of negative comments for April (43 percent) did not increase b...