New Zealand's service sector expansion speeds up in April

[WELLINGTON] Growth in New Zealand's services sector picked up pace in April for its strongest monthly expansion in 2016, a survey showed on Monday.

The Bank of New Zealand-Business NZ's seasonally adjusted performance of services index (PSI) rose 2.6 points to 57.7. "April's swift PSI and very solid PMI (performance of manufacturing index), overall, combine to suggest the economy is growing at a better than average pace as it steps into the June quarter," said BNZ senior economist Craig Ebert in a statement.

Last week, a companion survey showed manufacturing activity rose in April due to strong expansion in production and new orders.

REUTERS