The manufacturing sector in New Zealand continued to contract in April, albeit at a slower pace, the latest survey from BusinessNZ revealed on Friday with a score of 48.9. That's up from the downwardly revised 46.8 in March (originally 47.1), although it remains beneath the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction. Among the individual components, production (50.8), employment (60.8) and finished stocks (50.4) expanded, while deliveries (48.4) and new orders (45.3) contracted. "The PMI this year to date is consistent with manufacturing GDP trailing year earlier levels. However, the ... (full story)