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Expansion in New Zealand services sector accelerates

Xinhua, September 14, 2015 Adjust font size:

Growth in New Zealand's services sector reached its highest level in more than a year last month, according to the latest performance of services index (PSI) out Monday.

The BNZ-Business New Zealand PSI for August was 58.2 -- a 1.6- point rise from July -- on a scale on which above 50 indicates expansion and below 50 contraction.

It was the highest result since July last year and, with the key sub-indices of activity/sales and new orders consistently over the 60-point mark, it boded well for the months ahead, Business New Zealand chief executive Phil O'Reilly said in a statement.

BNZ senior economist Craig Ebert said that along with the performance of manufacturing (PMI), which also increased in August, the PSI painted a picture of an economy growing at a rate much better than normal.

"This is not to deny the headwinds that face the economy. However, we also need to acknowledge that growth in the current ( September) quarter could well be shaping up as strong," Ebert said in the statement.

The GDP-weighted performance of composite index, which combines the PMI and PSI, rose by 1.7 points to 57.8 in August. Endi