New Zealanders increased their spending on debit and credit cards in January, led by consumables and durables, while spending on fuel fell for a third straight month, reflecting the drop in global oil prices.
The value of core retail sales on electronic cards, which strips out spending on fuel and vehicle related items, rose 0.9 per cent seasonally adjusted in January, to $3.88 billion, following December's 0.2 per cent gain, Statistics New Zealand said.
Including fuel and vehicle spending, total retail spending dropped 0.4 per cent to $4.69 billion, led by a 6.7 per cent drop in fuel to a more-than two-year low of $663 million, following the global slump in oil prices.
Total spending, which includes non-retail industries and services, rose 0.1 per cent in the month to $6.22 billion.
The price of oil tumbled from its high in the middle of last year, as oversupply led to an oil glut while Middle East producers engaged in a price war to keep their market share. While the price has begun to recover, the drop to six-year lows has been blamed as a contributing factor to ongoing low interest rates, as the cheaper petrol prices keep a lid on global inflation.
