Growth in New Zealand's manufacturing sector slowed down last month, according to the latest performance of manufacturing index (PMI) released Thursday.
The BNZ-Business New Zealand PMI for August was 55.1 on a scale where above 50 indicates expansion and below 50 contraction. The level was down 0.4 points from July, but still represented healthy growth and the sector had remained solidly in expansion in almost all months since October 2012, Business New Zealand executive director for manufacturing Catherine Beard said in a statement.
"The slight dip in overall expansion was mirrored by the proportion of positive comments decreasing to 58.4 percent for August, compared with 62.8 percent in June to 63.8 percent in July, " Beard said.
BNZ senior economist Craig Ebert said in the statement that the drop was "a trivial move statistically, leaving the PMI happily north of its long-term average of 53.1."
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