New Zealand's Business NZ PSI improves to 52.1 in January vs. 48.8 prior

New Zealand’s Business NZ Performance of Services Index (PSI) climbed into expansion territory, improving to 52.1 in January from the previous reading of 48.8, according to Business NZ on Monday. 

Market Reaction

At the press time, the NZD/USD pair is up 0.04% on the day to trade at 0.6127. 

About the Business NZ Performance of Services Index (PSI)

The Business NZ Performance of Services Index (PSI), released by Business NZ on a monthly basis, is a leading indicator gauging business activity in New Zealand’s services sector. The data is derived from surveys of senior executives at private-sector companies. Survey responses reflect the change, if any, in the current month compared to the previous month and can anticipate changing trends in official data series such as Gross Domestic Product (GDP), industrial production or employment. The index varies between 0 and 100, with levels of 50.0 signaling no change over the previous month. A reading above 50 indicates that the services economy is generally expanding, a bullish sign for the New Zealand Dollar (NZD). Meanwhile, a reading below 50 signals that activity among service providers is generally declining, which is seen as bearish for NZD.