WELLINGTON - Retail sales remained strong in October.
Sales were down 0.7 per cent on a seasonally adjusted basis from September. But September had been a particularly strong month, up 2.3 per cent on August, boosted by one-off events like Apec and the world netball championships. Also, the schoolholidays fell completely in September.
WestpacTrust chief economist Bevan Graham said: "The level of retail sales is still up above August's by 1.6 per cent, suggesting healthy underlying average growth of about 0.8 per cent a month in both September and October."
Some of the heat has come out of the automotive sector, with vehicle sales down 1.3 per cent on September and service station sales (two-thirds of which is fuel) up 0.9 per cent compared with an average of 2.9 per cent over the previous two months.
The store types most reliant on tourism were all down in October: accommodation, hotels and liquor by 8 per cent and cafes, restaurants and takeaways by 1.6 per cent.
The biggest fall was recorded by footwear stores, down 16.7 per cent, reversing an 18.3 per cent rise the previous month.
Bank of New Zealand economists pointed to the strength of housing-related sectors, despite rising interest rates and slowing house sales. Appliance stores' sales had risen nearly 15 per cent in the three months to October. They expected that to moderate as construction activity eased. Building consents were down in October.