New Zealand's services sector continued to experience contraction in October, though the decline is less pronounced than in previous months, according to the latest data from BusinessNZ released on Monday. The Performance of Services Index (PSI) registered a score of 46.0.
This figure represents a slight improvement over September's score of 45.7 but stays below the critical threshold of 50, which delineates expansion from contraction.
Breaking down the index's components reveals that sales (44.3), employment (46.4), new orders (48.1), inventories (47.2), and supplier deliveries (46.9) all remain firmly in contraction territory.
"While the rate of contraction is not as steep as in June, when the PSI plummeted to 41.1, the index has been consistently fluctuating between 45 and 46 over the past four months. Recent business surveys suggest an enhanced outlook for the sector's future activity, yet present conditions remain notably challenging," remarked Doug Steel, Senior Economist at BNZ.