New Zealand’s service sector growth slowed down in March, with the BusinessNZ Performance of Services Index (PSI) declining to 54.4 from 55.8 in February. However, the index stayed above the long-term average of 53.6.
BusinessNZ Chief Executive Kirk Hope highlighted the uptick in negative sentiment, with the proportion of negative comments surging from 51.9% in February to 58.6% in March. The main concerns expressed were a cooling economy, the impact of price increases, and overall uncertainty.
Despite these challenges, BNZ Senior Economist Craig Ebert remains cautiously optimistic. He noted that while the PSI held relatively steady in March, the Performance of Manufacturing Index (PMI) slipped into slightly negative territory. Nonetheless, Ebert believes that there is enough positive momentum to suggest an underlying tendency for growth in activity.
 declining to 54.4 from 55.8 in February. However, the index stayed above the long-term average of 53.6.){kind=link}