The services sector is starting to recover, albeit from severe levels of contraction.
The BNZ Business NZ Performance of Services Index rose to 52.6 in April, a rise of 1.5 points from March, and the highest level since September last year.
A reading above 50 indicates the sector is generally expanding.
Canterbury and Southland improved from extremely low levels of activity in March, however both regions are still struggling.
BNZ senior economist Craig Ebert says while the sector is still showing signs of volatility, the underlying trend is that it's slowly expanding.
Mr Ebert says the tourism sector is faring better than expected, after looking like it was going to be a casualty of an Asian crisis last month.
