WELLINGTON, Oct. 16 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand's total electronic card spending fell 0.5 percent in September from August, with declines in retail and non-retail spending, official data showed on Friday.
The total value of electronic card transactions across all industries dropped 51 million NZ dollars (28.67 million U.S. dollars) to 9.2 billion NZ dollars in September, with cardholders making 167 million transactions at an average value of 55 NZ dollars each, according to Stats NZ.
Retail spending declined 0.4 percent, or 30 million NZ dollars, while spending in core retail industries decreased 0.7 percent, or 41 million NZ dollars, Stats NZ said.
Non-retail spending excluding services fell 25 million NZ dollars, or 1.1 percent, in September from August. The category includes medical and other health care, travel and tour arrangement, and postal and courier delivery. Services spending, including repair and maintenance, personal care, funeral and other personal services, declined 5.9 million NZ dollars, or 1.5 percent, the department said.
For the September quarter, total electronic card spending increased 0.3 percent from the June quarter. Retail spending edged up 0.1 percent, while core retail spending rose 0.4 percent, reflecting an increase in consumables spending that offset declines in several other categories, according to Stats NZ. ■