BNZ – BusinessNZ PSI – January 2017

New Zealand’s services sector experienced ongoing expansion during January to start 2017 on a very positive note, according to the BNZ - BusinessNZ Performance of Services Index (PSI).
 
The PSI for January was 59.5.  This was 1.0 point up from December, and the highest value since September 2015 (A PSI reading above 50.0 indicates that the service sector is generally expanding; below 50.0 that it is declining).

BusinessNZ chief executive Kirk Hope said that increased activity in the services sector was across the board.

“While activity/sales (60.8) remained above the 60-point mark, new business/orders reached its highest level since January 2014, which should flow through to overall activity over the coming months".
 
BNZ Senior Economist Doug Steel said "that the PSI strengthened a bit further in January, which was no mean feat given it was already at very perky levels and continues the acceleration of late last year". 
 
View PSI Time Series Data

Services Landscape
Swift Service
New Zealand’s Performance of Services Index (PSI) strengthened a bit further in January. That is no mean feat given it was already at very perky levels. Indeed, January’s 59.5 reading has only been surpassed once (September 2015 at 59.7) since 2007.
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Confidence and Sales
The ANZ-RM consumer confidence index remained well above average in January. It goes to show that it is not just more people (strong net migration) that are driving sales growth, but confidence among those already here.
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Building Off Highs
A strong January PSI offsets some slower signals in other indicators of late such as the PMI, building consents and house sales. Residential building consents fell 7.2% in December, extending the 9.2% decline of November.
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House Sales Lower
Indications of further weakening in housing turnover, has coincided with slowing inflation, albeit with considerable variation across categories and regions.
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View full BNZ Services Landscape