NZ wholesale trade dips in fourth quarter on decline in basic material products

NZ wholesale trade dips in fourth quarter on decline in basic material products
Paul McBeth
By Paul McBeth March 7 (BusinessDesk) - New Zealand wholesale trade dipped in the final three months of 2015 as a drop in sales of basic material products, such as metals, minerals and agriculture, helped snap two quarters of gains.  Seasonally adjusted sales fell 0.2 percent in the three months ended Dec. 31, turning around a 3 percent increase in the September quarter, according to Statistics New Zealand. The quarterly decline was led by a 2.7 percent drop in basic material sales, which spans agricultural, mineral, metal and chemical, a...