Kiwi dollar jumps on strong August retail sales

Tuesday 13th October 2009

The kiwi dollar has jumped on news that retail sales for the month of August are double forecasters' expectations.

Economists at the UBS New Zealand bank had expected 0.5% sales growth for the month, but retail sales came in at 1.1% rowth in the Statistics New Zealand monthly Retail Trade Survey, for August.

The news bolstered an overnight rally in the New Zealand dollar, which is trading late morning at US73.62 cents, having traded below US73 cents yesterday.

Two-thirds of retail sales categories showed growth for the month, with clothing and softgoods retailing showing the strongest growth, up 6.5%, or $14 million, followed by growth in hardware and department store sales.

While only representing one month's trading, the retail sales statistics reinforce a growing belief that New Zealand is bouncing back out of recession relatively unscathed by the global credit crisis, and well-placed with proximity to the strong Australian economy and recovering Asian markets.

Automotive fuel retailing showed a 1.9%, reflecting rising petrol prices as well as any increased consumption.

However, people are not buying cars in large numbers yet. The motor vehicle retailing category was down 1.4% for the month.

Businesswire.co.nz

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