NZ credit card spending in July posts biggest annual gain since January 2008

NZ credit card spending in July posts biggest annual gain since January 2008
By Paul McBeth Aug. 21 (BusinessDesk) - New Zealand spending on credit cards rose for a seventh month in July, posting its biggest annual gain since January 2008, before the global financial crisis set in and eroded households' appetite to take on debt. Total billings in New Zealand advanced 1.7 percent to a seasonally adjusted $3.23 billion in July from June, and were 9.7 percent higher than the same month a year earlier, according to Reserve Bank data. Of that, spending on New Zealand issued cards increased 1.8 percent to $2.85 billion,...