New Zealand: Retail card spending rises 1.8% in January vs 1.4% expected

"When adjusted for seasonal effects, overall retail spending rose 1.8 percent in January, after a 2.3 percent fall in December," Stats NZ reported.

Key takeaways from the press release

• The rise in retail card spending was driven by the sales of durables (such as furniture, hardware, appliances, and pharmaceutical retailing), up $64 million or 5.1 percent seasonally adjusted, after falling 4.2 percent in December.
• Core retail spending (which excludes the vehicle-related industries) rose 2.2 percent in January 2019, after a 1.7 percent fall in December.
• The total value of electronic card spending, including the two non-retail categories (services and non-retail), rose 2.0 percent in January 2019. This follows a 1.9 percent fall in December.