New Zealand BusinessNZ Performance of Manufacturing Index rose to 58.8 in July, slightly up from 56.2. Looking at some details, productions rose from 58.4 to 61.4. New orders rose from 58.2 to 67.4. However, employment dropped from 48.5 to 46.5. Employment remained weak and stayed in contraction for the 5th straight month.
BusinessNZ’s executive director for manufacturing Catherine Beard warned: “we should be careful not to interpret this as a new dawn for the sector, rather a catch-up for many trying to get back to a new sense of normality.”
BNZ Senior Economist, Doug Steel said that “July’s PMI had firmly set up the idea that manufacturing GDP would bounce back strongly in Q3 after what was surely a very large decline in Q2. The latest virus outbreak calls that into question and adds to the reservations that we already had for growth in Q4.”
