The Otago-Southland region finally received some good news to help brighten the gloom of winter with the release yesterday of the BNZ-BusinessNZ Performance in Services Industry Index.
After regional manufacturing performed well below expectation in June, Otago-Southland Employers Association chief executive John Scandrett said yesterday it was comforting to see the latest PSI in expansion mode at 53.4 points.
''This is a marginal lift on the local May outcome but, more importantly, the June new business indicator is sitting at a positive 65.6-point level.
''While this augurs well for the weeks ahead, we have learnt from past experience that reversals in tracking patterns are not uncommon.''
June service sector sentiment was based solidly on business support and training activities, he said.
The recent localised heavy rainfall and subsequent property flooding had created opportunities for building services providers.
Of particular note were the new comments supporting an uplift in retail performance and, after a significant period of downturn, those were most welcome, Mr Scandrett said.
Last week, the Otago-Southland Performance in Manufacturing Index was the lowest it had been for several years at 38.4 and latest job figures from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment showed advertised skilled vacancies throughout the South Island had fallen significantly.
Overall, New Zealand's services sector held its own in June, as activity remained at a healthy level of expansion, according to the national PSI.
The PSI for June was 58.2.
This was 0.1 points higher than May, and the highest overall value since July 2014.
A PSI reading above 50.0 indicates that the service sector is generally expanding; below 50.0 that it is declining.
Canterbury-Westland had the highest reading on 59.5, central was on 55.5 and northern was 53.9.
BusinessNZ chief executive Phil O'Reilly said the consistent level of expansion over the first six months of 2015 had been helped by both activity/sales and new orders remaining within a fairly tight band of expansion.
BNZ senior economist Craig Ebert said every bit of the PSI was in expansion mode, which was rare.
Combined with the improved national PMI reading for June (55.2) the latest PSI painted a picture of an economy expanding robustly.
