NEW ZEALAND ELECTRONIC CARD TRANSACTIONS SLIP 0.4% IN JANUARY

The total value of electronic card transactions in New Zealand was down a seasonally adjusted 0.4 percent on month or NZ$24 million in January, Statistics New Zealand said on Thursday - following the 19.2 percent spike in December.

Spending in the core retail industries slipped 0.7 percent on month or NZ$39 million.

On a yearly basis, electronic retail card spending was up 1.9 percent - slowing from 3.5 percent in the previous month.

By industry, the movements were: durables, up NZ$34 million (2.1 percent); motor vehicles (excluding fuel), up NZ$3 million (1.7 percent); fuel, down NZ$1 million (0.3 percent); apparel, down NZ$7 million (2.0 percent); and consumables, down NZ$31 million (1.3 percent).

Analysis are provided by InstaForex