Growth in New Zealand services slows

Growth in New Zealand's services sector slowed last month, according to the latest performance of services index (PSI) out Monday. The BNZ-Business New Zealand PSI for February was 53.1, down 4. 7 points from January, on a scale where above 50 indicates expansion and below 50 contraction. The PSI had averaged 56.5 over the last six months and the latest reading was similar to levels of expansion last seen in August last year, but the sector was still in a healthy position, said Business New Zealand chief executive Phil O'Reilly. "It is also useful to point out that the February results here are in good company with other countries, as growth of global services sector slowed, with a number of countries slipping back into contraction territory," he said in a statement. Three of the five main sub-indices were in expansion last month, with new orders/business at 56.1, activity/sales at 55.3 and employment at 53.6, while stocks/inventories was at 48.4 and supplier deliveries at 49.7. The GDP-weighted performance of composite index, which combines the performance of manufacturing index and the PSI, for February was down 4.1 points from January to 53.5.