New Zealand Retail Sales Rise 1.7% In Q4

(RTTNews) - The total volume of retail sales in New Zealand gained a seasonally adjusted 1.7 percent on quarter in the fourth quarter of 2014, Statistics New Zealand said on Monday.

That beat forecasts for an increase of 1.4 percent following the upwardly revised 1.6 percent increase in Q3 (originally 1.5 percent).

The last time the sales volume rose more than 1.7 percent was in the June 2012 quarter, when sales rose 1.9 percent.

"The motor-vehicle industry drove this quarter's increase, having the largest rises in both sales volume and value," acting business indicators manager Tehseen Islam said.

Twelve of the 15 retail industries had higher sales volumes, led by motor-vehicle and parts retailing, up 3.4 percent; food and beverage services, up 3.0 percent; and supermarket and grocery stores, down 1.2 percent.

The volume of sales in core retail (which excludes the vehicle-related industries) rose 1.5 percent.

When the effect of price changes is included, the total value of retail sales rose 1.6 percent (NZ$302 million), with sales rising in 10 of the 15 retail industries. This is also the largest total value increase since the June 2012 quarter, when sales rose 1.8 percent (NZ$306 million).

For core retail (which excludes the vehicle-related industries), the sales value rose 1.6 percent (NZ$228 million).

In actual terms, the value of total retail sales was NZ$20.9 billion in Q4, up 4.7 percent on year. This is the first time the total sales value was over the NZ$20 billion level, the bureau said.