New Zealand services sector ramps up growth in 2015

Growth in New Zealand's services sector accelerated last year, according to the latest performance of services index (PSI) out Tuesday.

The BNZ-Business New Zealand PSI for December was 58.9, down by 0.9 points lower than November, on a scale where above 50 indicates expansion and below 50 contraction.

However, it was still the third highest result for 2015, Business New Zealand chief executive Phil O'Reilly said in a statement.

"Expansion in the sector averaged 57.8 over 2015, compared with 56.5 in 2014 and 55.8 in 2013. This was certainly helped by the key indicators of activity/sales and new orders/business showing strong growth throughout most months," he said.

The GDP-weighted performance of composite index, which combines the performance of manufacturing index and the PSI, for December stood at 58.5, down by 0.3 points from November.