The latest Bank of New Zealand's (BNZ) survey showed that activity in New Zealand's manufacturing sector continued to expand in July, but at a slower pace than in June.

The BusinessNZ Performance of Manufacturing Index (PMI) came in at 55.4 last month compared to a downwardly revised June's reading of 56 (originally 56.2). A reading above 50 indicates expansion in economic activity, whereas a reading below that level represents contraction.

BusinessNZ's executive director for manufacturing Catherine Beard noted that while the main result experienced a second consecutive dip in expansion levels, the make-up of the sub-indices made for interesting reading. "Expansion across the five indices was very even for July, with the total difference between the lowest and highest results at only 1.2 points. Of particular note was the highest level of expansion for employment (56.4) since September 2014, along with finished stocks (also at 56.4). However, both production (56.0) and new orders (55.4) continued to slip in terms of expansion," she said.

Meanwhile, BNZ Senior Economist, Doug Steel, said that "at 55.4 in July, the PMI remains firmly above its long term average of 53.3. It bodes well for manufacturing GDP growth to continue outperforming its long term average as it has for much of the past three years".