New Zealand manufacturing activity growth slows slightly in March: survey

[WELLINGTON] Manufacturing activity in New Zealand expanded at a slightly slower rate in March, a survey showed on Thursday.

The Bank of New Zealand-Business NZ's seasonally adjusted Performance of Manufacturing Index (PMI) was 54.7 versus 55.9 in February. It was the lowest level of expansion since October 2015.

A reading above 50 indicates an expansion in activity, while anything below that threshold indicates a contraction.

BusinessNZ's executive director for manufacturing Catherine Beard said the dip in expansion for March was across all the sub-indices, with employment in slight contraction for the second month running.

REUTERS