New Zealand's economy has been underpinned by record levels of tourism and migration. Photo / File
Activity in New Zealand's services sector, which accounts for about two-thirds of the economy, rose last month to a near-record, with ongoing strength in wholesale, retail and hospitality.
The BusinessNZ-BNZ performance of services index rose 1 point to 59.5 in January, above the long-term average of 54.1, and close to
the record 59.7 from September 2015. Two of the five sub-indices increased, and all remained above the level of 50 that separates expanding activity from contraction.
"This is no one-month wonder. It continues the acceleration of late last year," Bank of New Zealand economist Doug Steel said in his report. "The PSI's three-month average has hit its highest level since the survey started back in 2007. There is swift, broad-based, growth occurring in the services sector."
New Zealand's economy has been underpinned by record levels of tourism and migration bolstering demand in the hospitality and retail sectors, coinciding with a pick-up in consumer spending.
New orders, which rose 2.9 points to 64.3, are at their highest level in three years, while stocks/inventories jumped 4.5 points to 57.4. Supplier deliveries were unchanged at 56.9, while activity/sales dropped 2.6 points to 60.8 and employment fell 1.1 points to 53.3.
