New Zealand’s manufacturing sector continued to lose momentum in August, according to the latest BNZ – BusinessNZ Performance of Manufacturing Index (PMI). The seasonally adjusted PMI for August was 46.1 (a PMI reading above 50.0 indicates that manufacturing is generally expanding; below 50.0 that it is declining). This was down from 46.6 in July, and the lowest level of activity for a non-COVID affected month since June 2009. The August result is also well below the long-term average activity rate of 52.9. BusinessNZ’s Director, Advocacy Catherine Beard said that the August result told the tale of another tough ... (full story)