According to the Business NZ Survey published on late Wednesday evening, the Business NZ performance of manufacturing index (PMI) for New Zealand rose to 55.4 in September from 55.1 in August. It was the highest level since February.

August's figure was revised up from 55.0.

A reading above 50 indicates expansion in the manufacturing sector.

The increase was mainly driven by a rise in the production and new orders.

"Production was at its highest level since December last year, while new orders continued to improve. Overall, this should flow through into healthy results for the last quarter of the year," Business NZ's executive director for manufacturing, Catherine Beard, said.