New Zealand’s services sector continued to exhibit lower levels of expansion during August, according to the BNZ – BusinessNZ Performance of Services Index (PSI).
The PSI for August was 53.2, which was 1.6 points lower than July (A PSI reading above 50.0 indicates that the service sector is generally expanding; below 50.0 that it is declining). This was also below the long run average of 54.5 for the survey.
BusinessNZ chief executive Kirk Hope said that like its sister survey the PMI, the PSI is currently in lower expansion mode.
“Looking at the sub-indices, the two key ones involving activity/sales (53.8) and new orders/business (58.8) both decreased in August, with the former at its lowest point since February. For the third month running, employment (49.9) remains stubbornly stuck on a figure that represents all but no change, while stocks/inventories (51.8) showed some improvement from July.
On a positive note, the proportion of positive comments in August (56.0%) recovered somewhat from the decrease in July (53.8%).”
BNZ Senior Economist Doug Steel said that “the PSI now sits below its long term average of 54.5. But it is more than one month, the trend has slowed. Indeed, the three month moving average has eased to 53.6, well below last year’s average of 57.1 and its lowest level in more than five years.”.
