Card spending falls in November amid earthquake disruption
Core retail spending dropped 0.4% in November from October.
Retail spending on electronic cards fell in November, snapping two consecutive months of gains, amid disruption from the Kaikoura earthquake.
Retail spending dropped a seasonally adjusted 0.3% last month, after a 0.6% gain in October and a 2.1% rise in September, Statistics New Zealand says.
Actual retail spending climbed 5.1% to $5.2 billion in November from the same month a year earlier..
Core retail spending, which excludes vehicle-related industries, dropped 0.4% in November from October, with apparel spending down 3.2%, its biggest monthly drop since a 3.5% decline in July 2013.
Spending on durables fell 0.7%, and hospitality dropped 0.3%, while consumable spending bucked the trend, up 0.8%.
The statistics agency says it isn't yet sure how sales may have been affected by the Kaikoura earthquake, which caused ongoing disruption in central Wellington.
"Spending growth took a small step back in November, but given the month contained the North Canterbury earthquake, this is no great surprise," ASB economist Daniel Snowden says in a note.
"As well as spending being directly impacted in the quake-affected areas, there is also potential for distribution disruption, impacting spending in non-quake impacted areas."
Mr Snowden says he expects future spending growth to remain firm, supported by high net migration, recovering dairy prices and record low interest rates.
Of the non-retail industries, non-retail excluding services fell 1.4% from October while spending in the services industry declined 2.3%.
Spending on fuel rose 2.5%, while vehicle spending slipped 2.8%.
In actual terms, card-holders made 138 million transactions in November with an average value of $50. The total amount spent was $6.9 billion.
(BusinessDesk)
Tina Morrison
Fri, 09 Dec 2016
Fri, 09 Dec 2016
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Card spending falls in November amid earthquake disruption
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