HomeNewsNewsImprovement in services sector but Covid contraction remains

Improvement in services sector but Covid contraction remains

The services sector remains in contraction but activity has picked up.

BusinessNZ chief executive Kirk Hope said despite improvements in the sector, Covid-19 and its associated restrictions still dominated comments from PSI respondents.
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The BNZ-Businesss New Zealand Performance of Services (PSI) Index rose 11.5 points in September to 46.9, from August’s 35.6 points.

A reading below 50 indicates contraction.

BusinessNZ chief executive Kirk Hope said there had been an overall improvement for services in September, with some easing of lockdown restrictions, but it was not business as usual.

“Covid-19 and its associated lockdown/restrictions still completely dominate comments from respondents, while the key sub-indexes of activity/sales (45.3) and new orders/business (47.5) remain in contraction,” Hope said.

“At what point the PSI returns to expansion will largely depend on any upcoming changes to alert levels…

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