Kirk Hope

Chief Executive, BusinessNZ

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Like its sister survey the month before, activity in New Zealand’s services sector reached its highest level since the survey began in 2007, according to the BNZ - BusinessNZ Performance of Services Index (PSI).

The PSI for April was 61.2, which was up 8.3 points from March (A PSI reading above 50.0 indicates that the service sector is generally expanding; below 50.0 that it is declining).  It was the first time since June 2007 that the sector recorded a post-60 result.

BusinessNZ chief executive Kirk Hope said that the strong April result matches what is occurring across many countries we typically compare ourselves with.

"Australia, the UK and the USA are also posting post-60 results at present, which is indicative of the global economy slowly but surely getting back to some form of normality through increased business activity".

BNZ Senior Economist Doug Steel said that "the Achilles heel of the PSI remains supplier deliveries.  Given supply issues obviously remain a significant issue for many, especially when viewed alongside very strong demand side indicators at present, it points to significant upwards pressure on prices".

View the PSI Time Series Data

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Main Indicies

Regional Results

Doug Steel

Senior Economist, BNZ

Full service

The green shoots of recovery that appeared in NZ’s service sector in March blossomed into full-on growth in April. The Performance of Services Index (PSI) leapt to an all-time high of 61.2 from 52.9.
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Growth signals positive

The PSI, along with last week’s above average PMI, points to a pick-up in economic growth. Even if Q1 GDP proves a bit soggy (as we think might be the case), following a clearly weak Q4, the composite PSI/PMI index for April suggests a decent bounce in Q2 is brewing.
Read more

Employment jumps

Amid the general PSI strength, the employment component stood out. Its 60.8 reading was a record – and by quite some margin with 56.2 being the previous high.
Read more

Supplies still troublesome

The Achilles heel of the PSI remains supplier deliveries. April’s 46.8 reading is better than March’s 44.2, but it is the 9th consecutive month in contractionary territory.
Read more

View the BNZ Services Landscape

BNZ - BusinessNZ PSI Time Series

January 2016 – April 2021

International Results

J.P. Morgan Global Manufacturing PSI^TM
5 May 2021

56.6

60.6

GDP-Weighted Index

59.3

Free-Weighted Index

The seasonally adjusted BNZ - BusinessNZ Performance of Composite Index or PCI (which combines the PMI and PSI) saw the two options for measuring the PCI log near or on record levels of activity for April.

The April GDP-Weighted Index (60.6) rose 6.3 points from March to record its highest ever result, while the Free-Weighted Index (59.3) increased 1.3 points to its highest level since July 2013.

BNZ - BusinessNZ PCI Time Series

January 2016 – April 2021