New Zealand retail sales up 1.1 percent
14 August 2009
The value of seasonally adjusted total New Zealand retail sales rose 1.1 percent ($174 million) in the June 2009 quarter, Statistics New Zealand said. This is the first increase in quarterly sales since the March 2008 quarter and follows a fall of 1.4 percent last quarter. The volume of sales was also up in the latest quarter (by 0.4 percent), the first rise since September 2007, following a fall last quarter of 2.7 percent. Core retailing, which excludes the vehicle-related industries, also increased in both the value (up 1.1 percent or $129 million) and volume (up just 0.2 percent) of seasonally adjusted sales.