New Zealand's manufacturing sector experienced a pick-up in expansion during September, according to the latest BNZ - BusinessNZ Performance of Manufacturing Index (PMI). The seasonally adjusted PMI for September was 54.0 (a PMI reading above 50.0 indicates that manufacturing is generally expanding; below 50.0 that it is declining). This was up 3.0 points from August. BusinessNZ's executive director for manufacturing Catherine Beard said that given what happened post the nationwide COVID lockdown, a boost in activity post the Auckland lockdown was not a surprise. "September saw Auckland at level 2.5 or lower, which ... (full story)