Vehicle spending edges up

Spending on vehicles edged up in July when compared to the previous month, but the total slipped below how much consumers splashed out in the same month a year ago, according to new figures from Stats NZ.

When adjusted for seasonal effects, Kiwis spent $214 million on vehicles using their credit and debit cards last month, an increase of $1m or 0.6 per cent from June 2021.

The July figure was only $1m, or 0.5 per cent, lower than the in the same month of 2020, when the car industry was enjoying an unexpected bounce back from the nationwide Covid-19 lockdown. 

Card spending on fuel jumped from $570m in June this year to $575m last month, an increase of 0.9 per cent. The latest monthly tally was also 9.5 per cent higher than the $525m spent in July last year.

Overall, the seasonally adjusted total for card spending in July 2021 increased by $77m, or 0.9 per cent, when compared to June 2021.

People splurged out $8.5 billion last month as spending increased in all categories except services, which fell $2m, or 0.5 per cent.

The monthly total was 5.5 per cent higher than the $8.1b spent using credit and debit cards in July last year.