New Zealand February Manufacturing PMI 49.3 (prior 47.3)

BNZ – BusinessNZ Performance of Manufacturing Index (PMI).

more to come

BusinessNZ’s Catherine Beard:

• improved February result showed signs of a gradual turnaround in the sector.

• “The key sub-index of Production (49.1) was at its highest level since January 2023, while Deliveries (51.4) was at its highest point since March 2023. However, New Orders (47.8) has now remained in contraction for nine consecutive months and likely needs to get much closer to the 50-point mark to edge the sector back into expansion”.

BNZ’s Stephen Toplis:

• “New Zealand’s manufacturing sector is still in recession, but this month’s PMI indicates there is light at the end of the tunnel. The 49.3 reading is within a smidgen of “breakeven” and the new orders to inventory differential provides support for an increase in production. Moreover, New Zealand’s underperformance against the rest of the world is narrowing quickly”.

This article was written by Eamonn Sheridan at www.forexlive.com.