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Electronic card transaction figures for last month show further evidence of a slowdown in retail spending.
Releasing the figures yesterday, Statistics New Zealand said the seasonally adjusted value of core retail electronic card transactions, which exclude vehicle-related industries, was down 0.6 per cent in January.
The trend in the core retail series was up 5.4 per cent last month from January 2007 - the smallest annual increase since the series started in October 2002. It had eased noticeably since August 2007.
Between August 2003 and August 2007, the annual increase in the core retail trend generally ranged between 8 and 10 per cent, apart from a period from December 2005 to September 2006 when it dropped below 8 per cent.
- NZPA
