New Zealand's manufacturing sector expanded in June, reaching its strongest reading since the rebound in July 2021 following the pandemic, as positive sentiment returned for the first time in recent months, BusinessNZ said Thursday.
According to the BusinessNZ Performance of Manufacturing Index (PMI), the seasonally adjusted PMI for June rose to 59.7 from 51.3 in May, significantly above the survey's long-term average of 52.5.
Headwinds related to the Middle East conflict, high fuel prices and cost-of-living pressure persist. However, these concerns were outweighed by stronger sales, fuller order books and a renewed sense of confidence.
Firm expansion was recorded across all sub-indexes, led primarily by new orders at 64.1, indicating a healthy outlook for future work, the firm added.