Eating, drinking feed rise in New Zealand retail spending

Food and drink purchases led a rise in spending by New Zealanders on their debit and credit cards last month, the government statistics agency said Wednesday.

Retail spending using electronic cards totaled 4.6 billion NZ dollars (3.1 billion U.S. dollars) in February, up 9.3 percent from February 2015, according to Statistics New Zealand.

The largest increases were from the consumables (food and liquor retailing) and hospitality (accommodation, bars and eateries) industries.

Retail spending was up 0.7 percent from January when it rose 0. 4 percent from the previous month.

Spending on automotive fuel fell by 12 million NZ dollars (8.1 million U.S. dollars) or 2.1 percent.

Core retail spending, which excludes the vehicle-related industries, rose 1.2 percent in February.