New Zealand's Business NZ PMI contracts again to 43.1 in December versus 46.7 previous

New Zealand's Business NZ Performance of Manufacturing Index (PMI) contracted further to 43.1 in December, down from November's 46.7.

Despite the decline, NZ PMI activity is still up from October's low of 42.9, but still represents the ninth consecutive month of contraction in manufacturing activity in New Zealand.

According to Business NZ:

Market Reaction

The NZD/USD is looking for a boost as the pair waffles into the midrange heading into Friday's market session, testing near 0.6120 and seeing intraday technical resistance at the 50-hour Simple Moving Average (SMA).

NZD/USD Hourly Chart

About the Business NZ PMI

The Business NZ Performance of Manufacturing Index (PMI), released by Business NZ on a monthly basis, is a leading indicator gauging business activity in New Zealand’s manufacturing sector. The data is derived from surveys of senior executives at private-sector companies. Survey responses reflect the change, if any, in the current month compared to the previous month and can anticipate changing trends in official data series such as Gross Domestic Product (GDP), industrial production or employment.The index varies between 0 and 100, with levels of 50.0 signaling no change over the previous month. A reading above 50 indicates that the manufacturing economy is generally expanding, a bullish sign for the New Zealand Dollar (NZD). Meanwhile, a reading below 50 signals that activity among goods producers is generally declining, which is seen as bearish for NZD.