New Zealand BusinessNZ Performance of Services dropped -1.2 pts to 47.9 in January, signal deeper contraction. The index was also well below long term average of 53.8 for the survey. Looking at some details, activity/sales dropped from 51.0 to 46.4. Employment dropped from 52.8 to 46.9. New orders, though, improved from 50.9 to 53.7.
BusinessNZ chief executive Kirk Hope said that the January result was generally negative when examined more deeply. “Looking at the comments made by respondents, the ongoing trend of contraction was typified by the influences of the Xmas period, ongoing COVID-19 related issues (including freight challenges) and a slower return to business as usual post holidays”.
