Sponsored Links
Retail sales in New Zealand stalled in December, led by a sharp fall in core retailing, data released by Statistics New Zealand showed on Friday.
Retail sales were flat in December compared to November following the 0.8% increase in the previous month. Economists were looking for a 0.6% increase.
The statistical agency noted that the flatness was the result of an "unprecedented" fall of 1.8% in core retailing industries being balanced by a 5.6% rise in the vehicle-related industries.
Only Eight of the 20 core retailing industries registered higher sales in December, with sales in supermarkets & grocery stores slumping 2.1%. On the other hand, accommodation showed a 2.2% increase.
Retail sales fell in the Wellington and Canterbury regions in December, but rose in Auckland, Waikato, the remainder of the North Island and the remainder of the South Island regions.
On a yearly basis, actual retail sales value for December stood at NZ$6.7 billion, 2.3% higher than in December 2008. Retail sales were up 2.4% in November.
In the December quarter, total retail sales volume climbed 1% quarter-on-quarter, with core retailing up 1.3%. In value terms, total retail sales were up 1% sequentially, with core retail sales rising 0.6%.
The disappointing retail figures add further woes to the Kiwi economy and may delay the timing of the first rate hike from the country's central bank. Data released by the government showed last week that the unemployment rate jumped to 7.3% in the December quarter - the highest recorded in more than a decade.
Economists at Westpac Bank said the underwhelming retail numbers along with the bulging unemployment rate posed serious downside risks to fourth quarter GDP results. Still, they expect growth to be stronger than the 0.2% growth in the previous two quarters.
They pointed out that while sales volumes did not quite measure up to their expectations, they still came in stronger than the central bank's expectations.
"As for interest rates, we would have needed to see an outsized performance in retail spending to warrant a rate hike as early as April. As a result, we have shifted our forecast for the first move to a 25 basis points increase in June," they said.
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand, which has maintained the official cash rate at 2.50%, said that the first rate hike will be delivered around the middle of 2010.
Following the release of the retail sales report, the New Zealand dollar declined against its major counterparts in early Asian trading. The N.Z. dollar eased from a fresh multi-week high against the euro and a weekly high against the U.S. dollar and yen.
Meanwhile, the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand announced on Friday that total house sales in New Zealand plummeted last month to their lowest level in nearly two decades.
A total of 3,666 homes were sold in the country in January - the lowest monthly total since records began in 1992 and only the second time the total figure had dipped under 4,000.
"Activity in the residential property market was quiet last month on the back of uncertainty over what actions the government intended to take on the recently announced tax working group recommendations," said REINZ president Peter McDonald.
Meanwhile, the institute's house price index slumped 1.6% month-on-month in January. However, on a yearly basis, the house price index increased by 6.9%.
Median house prices in New Zealand stood at NZ$350,000 in January, up from NZ$325,000 a year ago. Central Otago / Lakes was the only region to experience a drop in median prices while the largest gains were recorded in Otago, Taranaki and Canterbury / Westland.
0 komentar:
Post a Comment