BNZ – BusinessNZ
Performance of
Services Index

Cheers to 2013 – PSI

27 Jan, 2014

2013 represented a solid story of growth for New Zealand’s services sector, according to the BNZ – BusinessNZ Performance of Services Index (PSI).

The PSI for December was 57.5.  This was up 1.1 points from November, with the last quarter being the strongest for activity since 2007 (A PSI reading above 50.0 indicates that the service sector is generally expanding; below 50.0 that it is declining).  Over 2013, the PSI averaged 55.8, compared with 53.9 for 2012 and 52.7 for 2011.

BusinessNZ chief executive Phil O’Reilly said that the last quarter of 2013 indicates the services sector is moving up a gear in terms of expansion

“While there are always seasonal factors at play during this time of year, the fact remains that new orders and activity/sales are consistently strong, which should feed through into future results.  The proportion of positive comments remains high, with many outlining the new level of optimism and positively in the market.

BNZ Senior Economist Craig Ebert said the PSI suggests a pickup in production is gathering momentum.  

“The new-orders index is by far the fastest component of all, increasing at a rapid rate of knots.  We can believe this will be the case for the output index of the PSI over the first few months of 2014.”

All five main sub-indices were again in expansion during December, which has now been the case for the last eight months.  New orders/business (62.4) continued its top spot, with eight of the last nine results showing a post-60 point value.  Activity/sales (59.8) picked up 1.3 points from November, while employment (52.6) dipped in expansion levels after three consecutive months of rising activity.  Both stocks/inventories (54.2) and supplier deliveries (52.9) experienced an uplift in expansion from during December.

Activity was positive across all of the country in December.   In the North Island, the Central region (61.0) experienced another increase in expansion to record its first post-60 point value since March 2012. In contrast, the Northern region (57.4) dipped back to levels of expansion seen in September.  In the South Island, the Canterbury/Westland region (52.6) picked up pace, while the Otago/Southland region (55.1) saw more moderate levels of expansion compared with November.

The seasonally adjusted BNZ – BusinessNZ Performance of Composite Index or PCI (which combines the PMI and PSI) for December saw both options for measuring the PCI continue their steady march upwards.  The GDP-Weighted Index (57.5) increased 1.7 points from November, while the Free-Weighted Index (56.9) rose 0.2 points.

Click here to view the December PSI & PCI
Click here to view the PSI time series data
Click here to view the PCI time series data

For media comment: Phil O’Reilly 04 4966552 or Craig Ebert 04 4746799

BNZ - BusinessNZ PSI

Time Series Data

View seasonally adjusted and unadjusted time series data for the BNZ - BusinessNZ PSI

Services Landscape

Sponsor Statement

BNZ is delighted to be associated with the Performance of Services Index (PSI) and BusinessNZ.

This association brings together the significant experience of leading business advocacy body BusinessNZ, and business finance specialist BNZ.

We look forward to continuing our association with BusinessNZ and associated regional organisations, and to playing our part in the ongoing development of the New Zealand service sector.

PSI Time Series Table

The results are seasonally adjusted.

BNZ – BusinessNZ PSI Time Series

January 1966 – January 1970

International Results

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About the PSI

The BNZ – BusinessNZ Performance of Services Index is a monthly survey of the service sector providing an early indicator of activity levels.

A PSI reading above 50 points indicates service activity is expanding; below 50 indicates it is contracting.

The main PSI and sub-index results are seasonally adjusted.

Technical Contact

Stephen Summers
Economist, BusinessNZ

[email protected]

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BNZ – BusinessNZ
Performance of
Composite Index

PCI Time Series Table

The results are seasonally adjusted.

BNZ – BusinessNZ PCI Time Series

January 1966 – January 1970

About the PCI

The BNZ – BusinessNZ Performance of Composite Index (PCI) takes into account results from both the Performance of Manufacturing Index (PMI) and the Performance of Services Index (PSI). Combined results are shown in two ways:

GDP-Weighted Index:
Apportions the weight of the manufacturing and services index within the economy to produce an overall result.

Free-Weighted Index:
Combines data from both indexes to produce an overall result.

Both time series for the PCI are then seasonally adjusted.

BNZ - BusinessNZ PCI

Time Series Data

View seasonally adjusted and unadjusted time series data for the BNZ - BusinessNZ PCI

Our Contributors

The BNZ – BusinessNZ PSI contains data obtained through BusinessNZ’s regional organisations