By Sophie BootActivity in New Zealand's services sector, which accounts for about two-thirds of the economy, rose last month to a near-record, with ongoing strength in wholesale, retail and hospitality. The BusinessNZ-BNZ performance of services index rose 1 point to 59.5 in January, above the long-term average of 54.1, and close to the record 59.7 from September 2015. There is swift, broad-based, growth occurring in the services sector." BNZ's Steel said that points to robust economic growth in early 2017, albeit growth that is in the process of peaking. It is worth monitoring as a potential drag on wider service sector activity ahead," Steel said.

Source: New Zealand Herald February 19, 2017 23:03 UTC