The manufacturing sector continued to show solid expansion in March, although it slowed down a bit from February.
Photo: 123rf
The BNZ-Business New Zealand Performance of Manufacturing Index fell 1.6 points to 54.5 in March, from February. A reading above 50 indicates expansion.
Business New Zealand's executive director for manufacturing, Catherine Beard, said the sector had been expanding for 30 consecutive months and continued to demonstrate healthy growth, despite increasing concerns about the strong New Zealand dollar.
"Manufacturing has been holding its own in New Zealand which is very, very encouraging, particuarly given the fact that the exchange rate is very high, particularly against the Australian dollar," she said.
"That is one of the most negative mentions in the survey, that they are finding it increasingly challenging."
