New Zealand's manufacturing sector continued to expand in August, although growth slowed from July as employment stalled at the breakeven level, BusinessNZ said on Friday.
The BusinessNZ Performance of Manufacturing Index (PMI) for August fell to 53.1 on a seasonally adjusted basis from July's 54.3, but remained above the survey's long-term average of 52.5.
Manufacturing has remained in expansion for more than a year, although growth has slowed, with employment at the breakeven level and cost-of-living pressures and Middle East conflict weighing on businesses, said Catherine Beard, BNZ's director of advocacy.
Sentiment weakened further this month, with nearly 56% of comments turning negative, although many respondents noted stable or improving order books as a positive sign.
Among the sub-indices, production fell to 54.2 from 57.1, finished stocks increased to 56.4 from 53.4, employment decreased to 50 from 52.2, deliveries declined to 52.6 from 55.5, and new orders rose to 54.9 from 53.6.
"Although weaker than July's 54.3 print, the 3-month moving average of the PMI continues to rise, indicating the industry is performing well through monthly volatility," said Doug Steel, BNZ's senior economist.