Trade down 5.9pc in March qtr

Seasonally adjusted total wholesale trade sales fell a record 5.9 per cent, or $1.3 billion, for the March quarter, Statistics New Zealand said.

That was the largest quarterly fall in total sales since the series started in 1995, and was more than double the previous largest fall of 2.5 per cent, or $550 million, in the December 2008 quarter.

Most of the wholesaling industries had declining sales in the latest quarter, led by the 16.9 per cent or $351 million record fall in petroleum product wholesaling.