New Zealand manufacturing sales up 0.2 percent

New Zealand manufacturing sales rose 0.2 percent for the first time in five quarters, led by increased production in the meat and dairy industries.

According to data from Statistics New Zealand, sales adjusted to remove inflation gained 0.2 percent in the three months ended March 31 from the previous quarter.

Meat and dairy sales surged 23 percent, and excluding those categories, manufacturing contracted a record 6.5 percent.

Twelve of 15 industries recorded declines, adding to signs that New Zealand's economy shrank for the fifth straight quarter, extending the most prolonged recession in more than three decades.

Reserve Bank Governor Alan Bollard last week forecast the economy contracted 1 percent in the first three months of 2009, the biggest decline since 1998, and said a strong currency was "unhelpful" for exports.

A senior economist at ANZ National Bank Ltd. in Wellington Khoon Goh said manufacturing will add to a drop in gross domestic product in the first quarter. ANZ's provisionally expects the economy contracted 1 percent, matching the Reserve Bank's estimate. Statistics New Zealand publishes the GDP report on June 26.

Sales when price changes are included fell 0.9 percent from the fourth quarter, report showed, while sales values excluding meat and dairy fell 5.9 percent.