WELLINGTON, Jan 5 (Reuters) - New Zealand electronic card retail spending fell 2.3 percent in November due to a drop in fuel sales, indicating further weakness in consumer spending as the country's recession deepens.
Electronic card transactions, which include debit, credit and charge cards used at the point of sale, showed retail spending fell by around NZ$86 million to NZ$3.7 billion ($2.2 billion) in November, Statistics New Zealand (SNZ) said on Monday.
Electronic transactions for core retail groups, which excludes motor vehicle-related industries, fell a seasonally adjusted 0.5 percent.
Overall seasonally adjusted electronic card spending, which includes transactions in industries other than retail, fell 2.8 percent -- the largest monthly drop since the series began in October 2002, following a 0.5 percent rise in October, SNZ said.
New Zealand's economy suffered its biggest contraction in eight years in the third quarter, with gross domestic product falling a seasonally adjusted 0.4 percent as consumers spent less, businesses cut investment and weak global markets and prices hit exports.
SNZ has said the card spending data should not be used as an indicator of monthly retail sales because it is incomplete and does not include cash and cheque transactions, though analysts see electronic transactions as an indicator of consumer spending.
($1=NZ$1.69) Keywords: NEWZEALAND ECONOMY/ECARDS (Wellington newsroom tel +64 4 471-4234, fax +64 4 473-6212, wellington.newsroom@reuters.com) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
Electronic card transactions, which include debit, credit and charge cards used at the point of sale, showed retail spending fell by around NZ$86 million to NZ$3.7 billion ($2.2 billion) in November, Statistics New Zealand (SNZ) said on Monday.
Electronic transactions for core retail groups, which excludes motor vehicle-related industries, fell a seasonally adjusted 0.5 percent.
Overall seasonally adjusted electronic card spending, which includes transactions in industries other than retail, fell 2.8 percent -- the largest monthly drop since the series began in October 2002, following a 0.5 percent rise in October, SNZ said.
New Zealand's economy suffered its biggest contraction in eight years in the third quarter, with gross domestic product falling a seasonally adjusted 0.4 percent as consumers spent less, businesses cut investment and weak global markets and prices hit exports.
SNZ has said the card spending data should not be used as an indicator of monthly retail sales because it is incomplete and does not include cash and cheque transactions, though analysts see electronic transactions as an indicator of consumer spending.
($1=NZ$1.69) Keywords: NEWZEALAND ECONOMY/ECARDS (Wellington newsroom tel +64 4 471-4234, fax +64 4 473-6212, wellington.newsroom@reuters.com) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.