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New Zealand manufacturing sector contracts again in September
New Zealand's manufacturing sector contracted again in September and remains well below its long-term average, a survey showed on Friday. The Bank of New Zealand-BusinessNZ's seasonally adjusted Performance of Manufacturing Index (PMI) fell to 45.3 in September from a revised 46.1 in August. New orders fell to 44.9 from 46.6 in the prior month. A reading above 50 indicates manufacturing activity is expanding, while anything below that threshold points to contraction. "It is always difficult to know the precise drivers of any particular PMI result but judging by respondent comments falling sales, rising costs, and ... (full story)