Doug Steel: BNZ Senior Economist on the services sector expanding in the BNZ-BusinessNZ Performance of Services Index

More signs of life in the economy, as the services sector expands for a third straight month.   The BNZ-BusinessNZ Performance of Services Index rose to 51.2 in August – it's strongest result since September 2023.  New orders and business rose to 55.2, while retail climbed above 50 for the first time since January.   BNZ Senior Economist Doug Steel told Mike Hosking the new orders number is the bright spot on the survey and gives them hope that recovery is going to broaden.  He says exports are a pretty big driver of things picking up, especially primary exports, which is then driving activity in areas like transport and storage.   LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.