By James GlynnSYDNEY--New Zealand's services sector is suffering through its weakest period since the start of 2022 suggesting the country's recession will extend for some time yet. The BNZ - BusinessNZ Performance of Services Index for April was 47.1, down 0.1 points from March, the lowest level of activity for the sector since January 2022. When the PSI is combined with last week's performance of manufacturing index data, the economic picture is grim, said BNZ's Senior Economist Doug Steel. That is what we expect and, if anything, the combined index suggests some downside risk to our forecasts," Steel said. New Zealand's economy has been in recession for some time with little end in sight given that the Reserve Bank of New Zealand says it remains alert to the problem of stubborn inflation pressures.

Source: Wall Street Journal May 13, 2024 00:27 UTC