Card spending trend still rising in June

The total unadjusted value of electronic card transactions in New Zealand for June was up 2% from June 2008, figures released by Statistics New Zealand (Stats NZ) show. However, seasonal adjustment showed that the value of transactions fell slightly from May due to reduced spending on furniture, hardware and appliances. The core retail sector (which excludes motor vehicle - including fuel - retailing) saw the unadjusted value of card transactions rise 5% from June last year, although seasonal adjustment showed a 1.2% fall from May. "The durables industry (includes furniture, hardware, and appliance retailing) was the main contributor to the (seasonally adjusted) June decrease (in core retail)," Government Statistician Geoff Bascand said. "There were smaller falls in all other core retail industries in June, except for the consumables industry (includes food, liquor, and chemist retailing), which was unchanged compared with May 2009," Bascand said. The broader retail sector saw a very slight rise in unadjusted values from June 2008 and a seasonally adjusted 1% fall from May. "The trends for the total and core retail series continued to increase in June though at slightly slower rates than for March and April 2009. Latest figures indicate that the growth rate for the retail series has flattened. However, this latest trend estimate for the retail series may be revised and should be used with caution until more data are available," he said. Stats NZ's trend series shows the trend in electronic card spending has been rising slowly since February after four months of decline. The average transaction value remained at NZ$51 from May, its lowest level since the series began in 2001.