The volume of retail sales in New Zealand gained 2.3 percent on quarter in the second quarter of 2016, Statistics New Zealand said on Friday – the largest percentage increase since the December 2006 quarter.
That beat expectations for an increase of 1.0 percent following the 0.8 percent gain in the previous three months.
"Consumer spending is humming along, with DIY and trade staff customers boosting sales in the hardware and building supply trades. Strong vehicle sales also continued," business indicators senior manager Neil Kelly said.
Industries with the largest sales volume increases were: hardware, building, and garden supplies – up 5.0 percent; motor-vehicle and parts retailing – up 2.6 percent; pharmaceutical and other store-based retailing – up 5.2 percent; and food and beverage services – up 3.3 percent.
"Twelve of the 15 industries had higher sales volumes this quarter, with some Auckland retailers in particular saying they had an extremely busy quarter," Kelly added.
The value of total retail sales was NZ$19.9 billion in Q2, up 5.5 percent (NZ$1 billion) on quarter.
Also on Friday, the latest survey from Business NZ showed that the manufacturing sector in New Zealand continued to expand in July, albeit at a slower pace, with a Performance of Manufacturing Index score of 55.8.
That was down from the downwardly revised 57.6 in June (originally 57.7), although it remains well above the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.
Individually, the employment sub-sector came in at 54.6, expanding for the sixth straight month and hitting a nearly two-year high.
"The only weak looking constituent of July's PMI was around the stocks of finished products. Yet it's hard to see this as a genuine negative. Not with new orders, as a demand indicator, still relatively strong at a seasonally adjusted 58.1," said BNZ Senior Economist Craig Ebert.
by RTT Staff Writer
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