New Zealand manufacturing sector activity rises in May, PMI rises to 58.5

The manufacturing sector of New Zealand has saw growth in activity lift in May, showed the BNZ-BusinessNZ Performance of Manufacturing Index. The seasonally adjusted PMI came in at 58.5 in May, 1.6 points higher than April, and the highest value since January 2016. In all, the sector has continued to be in expansion in all months since October 2012.

BusinessNZ executive director for manufacturing Catherine Bear stated that the lift in growth more than eclipsed the drop recorded in the prior month. Looking at sub-index, new orders came in at 61.2, the highest three-monthly level of expansion since 2004.

Meanwhile production rose 2.7 points to 59.7, while the employment index rose to 55.3, the highest value since October 2014. Meanwhile, the proportion of positive comments was up to 69.4 percent in May as compared with April and March’s 64,7 percent and 67.2 percent, respectively.

“The PMI has now pushed up to its highest level in 16 months,  which makes the mild slowdown we saw at the beginning of the year a distant memory", said BNZ Senior Economist, Doug Steel.