BNZ – BusinessNZ
Performance of
Services Index

Solid stance – PSI

18 May, 2015
56.5
April
-1.1

Monthly Change

expanding
slower rate

New Zealand’s services sector continued to remain in a tight band of expansion for April, according to the BNZ – BusinessNZ Performance of Services Index (PSI).

The PSI for April was 56.5. While this was 1.1 points lower than March, it was the fifth month in a row of recording values between 56.0-57.9 (A PSI reading above 50.0 indicates that the service sector is generally expanding; below 50.0 that it is declining).

BusinessNZ chief executive Phil O’Reilly said that the key indicators of activity/sales and new orders/business remained over the 60-point mark, which bodes well for the short term in terms of ongoing growth.

“However, its sister survey the PMI has seen some inconsistent levels of expanion for 2015, so we will be monitoring whether this flows through to the PSI in the short-medium term.”

BNZ senior economist Craig Ebert said that while retail spending started 2015 on the charge, spending growth looks like it will slow markedly in Q2. “Given the 1.1% fall reported for April’s electronic card transactions, we’ll need to see a big bounce in May’s transactions if we’re to believe that June quarter retail trade volumes expanded, at all”.

BNZ - BusinessNZ PSI

Time Series Data

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

Services Landscape

Labour Market

The March quarter labour market data were, in the main, robust. Employment growth, as per the Household Labour Force Survey, expanded 0.7% in Q1, for annual growth of 3.2%.
Read more  

Consumer Spending

Retail spending started 2015 on the charge. In volume (inflation-adjusted) terms retail trade surged 2.7% in the March quarter, with every category seeing an increase (which is rare).
Read more  

Tax and the Budget

The government’s nine-months-to-March 2015 accounts were almost an embarrassment of riches, going into a Budget (this Thursday) that will presumably be all about delayed surpluses.
Read more  

Housing and the RBNZ Restrictions

Of course, low inflation is not something we can associate with the housing market, and especially not Auckland.
Read more .

Craig Ebert

Craig Ebert

Senior Economist, BNZ

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.

National Indicies Apr
2014
Dec
2014
Jan
2015
Feb
2015
Mar
2015
Apr
2015
BNZ – BusinessNZ PSI 58.4 56.7 57.9 56.0 57.6 56.5
Activity/Sales 61.5 57.7 60.5 61.9 60.1 60.4
Employment 53.2 52.0 54.9 52.9 54.8 53.6
New Orders/Business 64.0 60.8 61.4 58.6 60.9 62.6
Stocks/Inventories 57.6 54.7 52.9 53.5 57.6 52.7
Supplier Deliveries 56.5 56.0 54.8 51.2 53.6 50.1

BNZ – BusinessNZ PSI Time Series

April 2011 – April 2015

International Results

J.P. Morgan Global Manufacturing PSITM

06 May 2015
54.9

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]

PSI Releases

Ongoing contraction

New Zealand’s services sector displayed contraction for a fifth consecutive month, according to the BNZ – BusinessNZ Performance of Services Index (PSI). The PSI for June was 47.3 (A PSI reading above 50.0 indicates that the service sector is generally expanding;...

Service with a slump

New Zealand’s services sector continued to show further decline in activity during May, according to the BNZ – BusinessNZ Performance of Services Index (PSI). The PSI for May was 44.0 (A PSI reading above 50.0 indicates that the service sector is generally expanding;...

Declining fortunes

New Zealand’s services sector showed further decline in activity during April, according to the BNZ – BusinessNZ Performance of Services Index (PSI). The PSI for April was 48.5 (A PSI reading above 50.0 indicates that the service sector is generally expanding; below...

Continued softness

New Zealand’s services sector continued to show slight contraction during March, according to the BNZ – BusinessNZ Performance of Services Index (PSI). The PSI for March was 49.1 (A PSI reading above 50.0 indicates that the service sector is generally expanding; below...

Ups and downs

New Zealand’s services sector slipped back into contraction during February, according to the BNZ – BusinessNZ Performance of Services Index (PSI). The PSI for February was 49.1 (A PSI reading above 50.0 indicates that the service sector is generally expanding; below...

BNZ – BusinessNZ
Performance of
Composite Index

55.9

GDP-Weighted Index

55.4

Free-Weighted Index

The seasonally adjusted BNZ – BusinessNZ Performance of Composite Index or PCI (which combines the PMI and PSI) saw the two options for measuring the PCI both experience lower levels of expansion for April.

The GDP-Weighted Index (55.9) decreased 1.2 points, while the Free-Weighted Index (55.4) decreased 1.0 point. The decrease in both indices was primarily due to a drop in expansion from the manufacturing sector.

PCI Time Series Table

The results are seasonally adjusted.

National Indicies Apr
2014
Dec
2014
Jan
2015
Feb
2015
Mar
2015
Apr
2015
GDP-Weighted Index 58.1 56.8 57.0 55.9 57.1 55.9
Free-Weighted Index 57.4 57.2 54.9 56.7 56.4 55.4

BNZ – BusinessNZ PCI Time Series

April 2011 – April 2015

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