Growth in New Zealand's manufacturing sector slowed last month, but remained healthy, according to the latest performance of manufacturing index (PMI) out Thursday.

Business New Zealand PMI for March was 54.5 on a scale where above 50 indicates expansion and below 50 contraction.

It was the 30th consecutive month of growth, despite being 1.6 points lower than February.

Business New Zealand executive director for manufacturing Catherine Beard said activity was still healthy and positive across most of the sub-indices recorded.

"Comments from respondents remained more positive (60 percent) than negative (40 percent), although a number of those that provided a negative influence mentioned the increased value of the New Zealand dollar, in particular against the Australian," she said in a statement.

"This is something we'll continue to watch out for in the months ahead."