Spending charged to electronic cards dropped last month as this indicator of consumer behaviour continues to saw-tooth around a subdued trend.
The amount consumers charged to credit or debit cards - which captures about 60 per cent of all retail spending - fell 1.7 per cent, largely reversing a 2
per cent increase in March, to be 3.6 per cent higher than a year ago.
Core retail spending, which excludes the automotive sector, was down 1.9 per cent after a 2 per cent rise in March, to be just 1.5 per cent up on a year ago.
Economists suspect the volatility of the past couple of months reflects Easter falling in early April, which may have pulled some spending back into March.
"Standing back and looking at the broader trend, spending rose 0.8 per cent in the three months to April, compared with the prior three-month period," Deutsche Bank chief economist Darren Gibbs said.
Excluding the auto sector, spending was up 0.5 per cent compared with the prior three-month period.
"Our overall impression is that consumer spending is trending gradually higher, with spending in the core retail sector still particularly subdued."
Gibbs expects spending on durable goods to pick up for a while before the likely rise in GST this year, and strengthen more broadly as the economic recovery generates more jobs and higher wages, while rural areas benefit from stronger export commodity prices.
Goldman Sachs JBWere economist Philip Borkin does not think the electronic cards data will make any difference to the timing of the Reserve Bank's first official cash rate increase.
