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Higher spending in spite of higher petrol prices
The annual growth rate picked up in Auckland/Northland during October, rising to 5.1% which is above the 12-month average of 3.3%. Excluding petrol stations, the ex-fuel annual growth rate was also 5.1% and up on previous months, suggesting the region is coping well with the sharp rise in fuel prices in recent months. Spending at housing-related merchants, up 9.8%, is a key driving force. A countering force remains lower spending (-9.8%) amongst Auckland/Northland accommodation merchants.
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Further sign of consumers shrugging off the higher petrol prices was strong spending growth during Labour weekend. Spending nationally was up 8.1% amongst non-fuel merchants over the weekend, including 22.1% more at liquor merchants and 21.5% more amongst hardware and home decorating stores. Excluding fuel, highest growth rates were recorded away from the major centres at West Coast (19.9%), Gisborne (+15.1%), Wanganui (+13.0%) and Southland (+13.7%).
Bay of Plenty also recorded doubt-digit annual growth over Labour weekend but this was surpassed by an 11.1% annual non-fuel growth rate on Wednesday 31 October, the day of the royal visit to Rotorua. Conversely, below average non-fuel spending growth was reported in the days before in Wellington on Sunday (5.5%), Nelson on Monday (1.2%) and Auckland/Northland on Tuesday (0.1%), providing mixed spending effects coinciding with the royal visit
Spending across all
regions over the month was up only 0.1% since September in
seasonally adjusted terms, and was unchanged once fuel sales
were excluded, but the national annual growth rate of 6.4%
remains similar to the average of the previous 12 months.
Spending growth was strongest in Gisborne (+14.0%),
Palmerston North (+12.8%), Wanganui (+12.3%) and Wairarapa
(11.0%). Slowest annual growth was recorded in Canterbury
(4.7%).
| PAYMARK All Cards Data (October 2018 versus same month 2017) | ||||
| Region | Volume transactions millions | Underlying* Annual % change | Value transactions $millions | Underlying* Annual % change |
| Auckland/Northland | 44.54 | 4.9% | $2,133.4 | 5.1% |
| Waikato | 8.45 | 7.5% | $382.4 | 8.5% |
| BOP | 7.66 | 9.0% | $357.0 | 8.6% |
| Gisborne | 1.07 | 11.2% | $46.1 | 14.0% |
| Taranaki | 2.40 | 7.7% | $104.5 | 9.7% |
| Hawke's Bay | 3.29 | 6.2% | $149.2 | 8.4% |
| Wanganui | 1.31 | 9.8% | $53.1 | 12.3% |
| Palmerston North | 3.68 | 8.1% | $183.5 | 12.8% |
| Wairarapa | 1.15 | 10.0% | $50.1 | 11.0% |
| Wellington | 12.00 | 5.5% | $503.2 | 6.1% |
| Nelson | 2.01 | 3.3% | $98.2 | 5.0% |
| Marlborough | 1.26 | 9.1% | $61.5 | 10.2% |
| West Coast | 0.67 | 7.2% | $34.3 | 9.3% |
| Canterbury | 12.32 | 4.4% | $566.8 | 4.7% |
| South Canterbury | 1.64 | 5.5% | $82.1 | 6.7% |
| Otago | 6.32 | 6.0% | $294.7 | 6.4% |
| Southland | 2.40 | 7.7% | $119.4 | 10.5% |
| New Zealand | 112.96 | 5.9% | $5,269.8 | 6.4% |
| * Underlying spending excludes large clients moving to or from Paymark within recent years |
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