NEW ZEALAND

Sales Rise, but Growth Is Slowing: Manufacturing sales rose 10% in the year ended March 31 amid signs of a slowdown in the nation’s growth, the government said. Growth during the January-March quarter slowed to 6% compared to the same quarter a year ago, said Dennis Trewin, a government statistician. That was down from the 9% growth in the October-December quarter over the year-earlier period. Despite the slowing rate of growth, confidence in manufacturing was demonstrated by a 40% rise in investment in the January-March quarter compared to the year-ago period.