By James Glynn
SYDNEY--Evidence of a solid recovery in New Zealand's economy continues to mount with services sector activity rising strongly in December, snapping a 21-month downturn.
The BNZ-BusinessNZ performance of services index for December was 51.5, up 4.3 points from November, but still below the average of 52.8 over the history of the survey.
The December rise ended the longest run of contraction for the sector since the survey began.
Three of the five sub-index values were in expansion in December, with new orders leading the recovery after four consecutive months of contraction. This was followed by activity and sales, stocks and inventories.
Employment remained in slight contraction, the data showed.
The proportion of negative comments for December stood at 50.4%, but this was below November's 52.9%, and the reading in October of 54.1%, according to the report.
New Zealand's economy is showing signs of a recovery with manufacturing activity also surging in December to its highest level since 2021.
The upbeat data joins other indicators of economic activity that suggest aggressive cuts in interest rates since mid-2024 are finally starting to gain traction and lift the economy out of an extended period of gloom.
-Write to James Glynn at james.glynn@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
01-19-26 1723ET
