2018.08.2119:49:00UTC+00New Zealand Q2 Retail Sales Advance 1.1%

Retail sales in New Zealand climbed a seasonally adjusted 1.1 percent on quarter in the second quarter of 2018, Statistics New Zealand said on Wednesday.

That beat forecasts for an increase of 0.3 percent, which would have been unchanged from the three months prior following an upward revision from 0.1 percent.

According to the data, 11 of the 15 retail industries had higher sales volumes.

Hardware, building, and garden supplies had the largest increase, up 4.7 percent after a subdued 0.6 percent increase in the March 2018 quarter.

Food and beverage services rose 1.7 percent, rebounding from a 1.0 percent fall in the March 2018 quarter.

Department stores (up 2.8 percent), and electrical and electronic goods (up 2.0 percent), were the next notable increases.

Supermarket and grocery stores had the largest fall, down 1.1 percent after a 1.0 percent rise in the March 2018 quarter.

The fuel industry had a 0.7 percent fall in sales volume, its fourth consecutive quarterly fall.

The largest regional rise was in the Auckland region, up 1.6 percent (NZ$138 million), accounting for more than one-third of the national increase in the June 2018 quarter. Fourteen of the 16 regions recorded increases in the latest quarter.

The value of sales in the North Island rose 2.1 percent (NZ$356 million) in the June 2018 quarter, after a 0.8 percent (NZ$139 million) rise in the March 2018 quarter. In the South Island, the rise was a modest 0.4 percent (NZ$22 million) after a 0.7 percent (NZ$42 million) increase in the March 2018 quarter.

After Auckland, the next-largest regional increases were: Waikato, up 2.8 percent (NZ$58 million), Wellington, up 2.3 percent (NZ$51 million), Manawatu-Wanganui, up 3.8 percent (NZ$38 million), and Bay of Plenty, up 1.8 percent (NZ$26 million).

Only two regions recorded falls in the June quarter - Otago, down 0.2 percent (NZ$3 million), and Southland, down 2.4 percent (NZ$12 million).