Manufacturing activity shrank at a slower pace in June and is now at its highest overall level in nine months.
The BNZ Capital-Business New Zealand Performance of Manufacturing Index increased to 46.2 in June, up 3.1 points from May.
A reading below 50 indicates manufacturing activity is generally declining.
BNZ Capital senior economist Craig Ebert says there is a sense of a recovery being underway.
He says the employment index continued to slide in June, but that could stablise if production improves over coming months.
