New Zealand services sector expansion rises in September

Growth in New Zealand's services sector continued to accelerate last month, according to the latest performance of services index (PSI) out Monday.
The BNZ-Business New Zealand PSI for September was 58, on a scale where above 50 indicates expansion and below 50 contraction, which was 0.3 points up from August.
The latest reading puts the PSI at a monthly average of 56.7 for the year so far.
"Looking at the combined results for July-September, it shows that the sector experienced its highest overall level of quarterly expansion since 2007," Business New Zealand chief executive Phil O 'Reilly said in a statement.
"In addition, both new orders/business and activity/sales displayed results above the 60-point mark, which are key determinants for the overall result."
For the fourth month in a row, all five main sub-indices were in expansion, with new orders/business at 61, activity/sales at 60. 3, employment at 55, supplier deliveries at 53.2 and stocks/ inventories at 50.7.
The GDP-weighted BNZ-Business New Zealand performance of composite index, which combines the performance of manufacturing index of 58.1 and PSI, for September rose 0.4 points from August to stand at 58.2. Enditem