NZ quarterly retail sales rise 1.7% in 4th-qtr, adding to upbeat electronic cards data

NZ quarterly retail sales rise 1.7% in 4th-qtr, adding to upbeat electronic cards data
Jonathan Underhill
By Jonathan Underhill Feb. 23 (BusinessDesk) - New Zealand retail sales rose in the fourth quarter, as Kiwis spent more on dining and drinking out, cars and parts, and on groceries. Retail sales volumes rose 1.7 percent in the final three months of 2017, on an adjusted basis for seasonal and price effects, from a revised 0.3 percent gain in the third quarter, Statistics New Zealand said. In actual terms, the value of total retail sales rose 6.3 percent to $25.2 billion in the December 2017 quarter, from the same period in 2016. The dat...