Activity in New Zealand's manufacturing sector picked up slightly in June, according to the latest BNZ - BusinessNZ Performance of Manufacturing Index (PMI). The seasonally adjusted PMI for June was 51.3 (a PMI reading above 50.0 indicates that manufacturing is generally expanding; below 50.0 that it is declining). This was 0.9 points up from May, but still the fourth consecutive monthly result below the long-term average of 53.4 for the survey. BusinessNZ's executive director for manufacturing Catherine Beard said that while the sector avoided further deterioration in activity from May, there were still a number of ... (full story)