Card Spending in New Zealand Largely Flat in June, ANZ Says

Card spending in New Zealand was largely flat in June, with just a slight 0.1% seasonally adjusted increase from the previous month, although annual growth rose by a full percentage point to 5.8%, ANZ said in a Monday report. Card spending in the hospitality sector fell 2.2% in June after rising 3.5% in the previous month, while housing durables also fell. Those declines were offset by a lift in tourism and recreation, services, and non-retail trades and goods. Meanwhile, card spending on motor vehicles and fuel slid 0.9% month over month as fuel prices continued to retreat, with spending at fuel, charging, and service stations falling 1.2% in June. ANZ also reported "a sharp rise" in card spending on industrial supplies, but noted that this increase likely reflects higher prices as opposed to volume growth, as these goods are largely imported, and some of them are directly impacted by oil prices.