NZ credit card spending has first annual drop in 3 years

NZ credit card spending in October shows first annual drop in three years

Nov. 21 (BusinessDesk) - Credit card billings in New Zealand fell in October from the same month a year earlier in the first annual decline in three years.

Total billings in New Zealand shrank 0.9 percent to a seasonally adjusted $2.7 billion last month from October 2011 as spending on overseas cards shrank by a quarter, according to Reserve Bank figures. Last year's local billings on foreign-issued cards were bolstered by an influx of visitors for the Rugby World Cup.

Local billings on New Zealand issued cards rose 2.9 percent to $2.42 billion in October from a year earlier, and were up 0.5 percent on a monthly basis.

Earlier this month, government data showed spending on credit and debit cards rose 4.6 percent to $5.61 billion in October from a year earlier, led by increases spending on fuel and vehicles. Credit cards accounted for about 44 percent of transactions that month.

(BusinessDesk)

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