New Zealand Retail Sales increase in February.

New Zealand Retail Sales rebounded slightly in February after a decline in January according to a report released by Statistics New Zealand today.  Retail sales increased by 0.2 percent in February after falling by a revised 1.2 percent in January.  February’s increase surpassed economic forecasts that were expecting a 0.5 percent decline for the month.

Core retail sales, excluding automobile sales, fell by 0.1 percent in February following a revised increase of 0.2 percent in January. The rise in core sales also surpassed economic forecasts expecting a 0.1 percent decrease for the month.

Contributing to the gain in the retail sales numbers was an increase in automotive fuel sales which rose by 6.7 percent in February after falling for four months in a row. Sales at supermarkets and grocery stores increased in February by 1.0 percent while “other retailing” rose by 3.2 percent.

Negative contributors to the retail sales data were automobile sales which fell by 3.2 percent and sales of recreational goods which decreased by 4.9 percent. Also falling in February were “accommodation” sales with a decline of 4.2 percent and sales of clothing & soft-goods with a fall of 4.0 percent.