Retail sales down more than expected
11:30AM Monday April 14, 2008
Photo / Bay of Plenty Times
Shoppers tightened their purse strings again in February, as a tougher economic outlook caused people to exercise caution in their retail spending.
The hardest-hit industry was motor vehicle sales.
Retail sales slumped by a seasonally adjusted 0.7 per cent in February, figures published by Statistics New Zealand (SNZ) today show.
The drop, which followed a 0.3 per cent increase in January, caught economists by surprise, with the median prediction for February in a Reuters poll having been for an increase of 0.3 per cent.
With the four vehicle-related industries excluded, core retail sales did increase, adding 0.2 per cent, compared to the forecast of a 0.4 per cent gain.
However, it's worth noting that February did have an extra day this year, due to Leap Year.
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