WELLINGTON, Feb 16 (Reuters) - New Zealand's manufacturing activity started to recover in January after a slowdown in growth the previous month, but firms reported less positivity than usual, a survey showed on Friday.
The Bank of New Zealand-Business NZ's seasonally adjusted Performance of Manufacturing Index (PMI) grew to 55.6 from 51.2 the previous month, its slowest rate in five years.
A reading above 50 indicates an expansion in activity, while anything below that threshold indicates a contraction.
December's stark slowdown in growth had largely been due to a hangover from a turbulent election that saw the new Labour-led government take the helm in October. "It was positive to see the PMI rebound somewhat after a sizeable drop in expansion during December, comments from manufacturers provide another angle to the story," said Business NZ executive director for manufacturing, Catherine Beard. Postive comments for manufacturers had fallen to 50.7 percent from 56.3 percent in December.
(Reporting by Charlotte Greenfield; editing by Andrew Roche)
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