New Zealand services grow faster in July

The growth in New Zealand's services sector accelerated last month, according to the latest performance of services index (PSI) out Monday.

The BNZ-Business New Zealand PSI in July was 58.4, up 3.2 points from June, on a scale on which above 50 indicates expansion and below 50 contraction.

The July reading was stronger than the 56.5-point monthly average for the year to date and a return to levels last seen in March and April, Business New Zealand Chief Executive Phil O' Reilly said in a statement.

BNZ senior economist Craig Ebert said in the statement that recent surveys suggested New Zealand's service sector was in particularly good heart, with service sector firms looking to invest more in plant machinery, equipment and staff.

All five main sub-indices were in expansion during July, with new orders-business on 64.1, activity-sales on 61.4, employment on 54, stocks-inventories on 53.1 and supplier deliveries on 56.5.

The GDP-weighted BNZ-Business New Zealand Performance of Composite Index, which combines the performance of manufacturing index and PSI, for July was 57.5, up by 2.6 points from the previous month.