According to the Business NZ Survey published on late Wednesday evening, the Business NZ performance of manufacturing index (PMI) for New Zealand fell 53.3 in October to 55.4 in September.

A reading above 50 indicates expansion in the manufacturing sector.

The decline was mainly driven by a slower expansion in the production and new orders.

"Although the key sub-indices of production (53.1) and new orders (55.9) both experienced lower levels of expansion, they continued to lead the way for October. In addition, the proportion of positive comments for October (61.8%) picked up from September (58.7%), with many of these in relation to increased offshore orders and new customers," Business NZ's executive director for manufacturing, Catherine Beard, said.