New Zealand’s Retail Card Spending down in July – Westpac

Satish Ranchhod, Senior Economist at Westpac, offers his first impressions of New Zealand’s (NZ) Retail Card Spending data released earlier today.

Key Quotes:

“New Zealanders just aren’t in the mood to spend. Retail spending levels were down 0.1% in July. That follows flat spending in June. That was a weaker result than we and analysts more generally had expected.

Some of July’s softness in overall spending was likely due to increases in petrol prices. 

July’s softness in spending was seen across a number of categories. That includes ongoing softness in spending on household durable items like furnishings, likely reflecting the weakness in the housing market. Spending on apparel also remains subdued.

Looking at longer-term trends, spending in core (ex-fuel) categories has been flat since the start of this year. That highlights the dampening impact the weak housing market and low confidence have had on spending appetites.”