New Zealand's manufacturing activity rose in February after a dip in January when momentum waned in the building sector.
The Bank of New Zealand-BusinessNZ performance of manufacturing index was a seasonally adjusted 55.2 in January, 3 points higher than January and the highest level of expansion since September last year.
The manufacturing sector has remained in expansion in almost every month since October 2012, buoyed by a construction boom that started in the post-earthquakes Christchurch rebuild and has extended to Auckland's housing market.
"It was good to see New Zealand's Performance of Manufacturing Index (PMI) bounce in February. Had it not, we would have become a little apprehensive about the way it was going," said BNZ senior economist Craig Ebert.
The PMI's new orders component "aided the positive tone," he said, noting the production index was also back above its long-term average. Data this week showed the economy expanded less than expected in the fourth quarter of last year, partly weighed by weak manufacturing output.
