NZ: Retail spending roared back to life in the June quarter - Westpac

Satish Ranchhod, Senior Economist at Westpac, notes that New Zealand’s retail spending rose by 1.1% in the June quarter, underpinned by a strong rise in the core categories and was well above market expectations for a 0.3% gain.

Key Quotes

“After softness earlier in the year, retail spending roared back to life in the June quarter. After adjusting for price changes, spending rose by 1.1%. That was well above our forecast for a 0.2% gain, and the average market forecast for a 0.3% rise.”

“June’s increase was underpinned by a solid 1.4% increase in core retail categories (which excludes the volatile vehicle and fuel categories).”

“Today’s retail data adds to the upside risks for Q2 GDP growth (we were already expecting a strong gain of around 1% before today’s report). Importantly, it reinforces the idea that GDP growth will surprise the RBNZ to the upside in the near term.”