This data point, the BNZ - BusinessNZ Performance of Services Index (PSI), tends not to have too much impact upon release.
Comes in at 53.0 for December
- from 53.4 (revised from 53.5) in November.
December was the lowest level of expansion since June 2018
overall average rate for 2018 was 54.9, lower than 2016/2017, but still slightly ahead of the long term average of 54.5 for the survey.
BusinessNZ chief executive Kirk Hope
- "Despite the sub-index of new orders (59.2) improving from November, the other key sub-index of activity/sales (52.2) continued to drop, reaching its lowest level of expansion since May 2014. Employment (50.3) returned to levels experienced for a sizeable part of 2018, while supplier deliveries (51.6) returned to expansion.The further dip in expansion also saw a drop in positive comments received, with the proportion of positive comments in December (54.4%) lower than both November (60.1%) and October (56.5%). Both Xmas and holidays were the stand out reason for negative comments, although a number of positive comments also focused in this space".
BNZ Senior Economist Doug Steel
- recent PSI results "adds to the sense that growth in the service sector has been slower over the past six months. But it is also important to recognise that it appears to be stabilising at this slower pace rather than slowing further".
