Activity in New Zealand's services sector softened in June, adding to a picture of lacklustre economic growth. The BNZ-BusinessNZ performance of services index fell 0.8 of a point in June from May to a seasonally adjusted 52.7. That was 0.3 of a point lower than a year earlier and remained below the long-term average of 54.4. BusinessNZ chief executive Kirk Hope said the reading was "symptomatic of a lacklustre first half of 2019 for the sector". The stock/inventories sub-index fell 3.6 points to 53.3, while the new orders and business eased 1 point to 54.8.

Source: Otago Daily Times July 15, 2019 15:00 UTC