New Zealand Services Sector Falls Into Contraction

(RTTNews) - The services sector in New Zealand slipped into contraction territory in February, the latest survey from BusinessNZ revealed on Monday with a Performance of Services Index score of 49.1.

That's down from the downwardly revised 50.3 in January (originally 50.4) and it falls beneath the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.

Individually, sales (49.2), employment (48.9), new orders (49.4), inventories (48.0) and supplier deliveries (47.8) all contracted.

"While one might have hoped that the PSI would move higher again, we know that economic turning points can be messy. The brief foray above 50 in January remains the only month in the last year the PSI hasn't been in contraction," BNZ Senior Economist Doug Steel said.