2019.05.1700:16:00UTC+00New Zealand Manufacturing Growth Rises In April

New Zealand's manufacturing growth accelerated in April, survey figures from Business NZ showed on Friday.

The BNZ-BusinessNZ performance of manufacturing index rose 1.0 points to 53.0 in April. Any reading above 50.0 indicates an expansion in the sector.

The production index was subdued, at 50.8 and the new orders sub-index fell to 52.4. The employment sub-indicator declined to 51.6, but remained above its long term average of 50.7. BNZ Senior Economist, Doug Steel said that "the headline PMI looks reasonable but some of the details have cooled off including new orders. It raises questions for those looking for a strong growth pickup later in 2019."