Retail sales in New Zealand eased by a seasonally adjusted 0.3 percent in April compared to the previous month, Statistics New Zealand said on Monday - slightly below analyst expectations for a 0.2 percent monthly contraction following the 0.5 percent increase in March.
Core retail sales, which exclude sales of automobiles, were down 0.2 percent on month versus forecasts for a 0.4 percent decline after jumping a revised 1.0 percent in March.
Decreases in sales were recorded for 15 of the 24 retail industries in April, led by department store sales, down 3.3 percent at 11 million NZ dollars. All other decreases were more modest, down 6 million NZ dollars or less.
The accommodation industry had the largest sales increase, up 7.0 percent to 15 million NZD - marking the largest for accommodation since September 2003.
The total retail sales trend has been rising since February 2009, but has flattened in recent months. The core retail sales trend has been falling slowly since October 2009, down a total of 0.9 percent since then. This period of decline in the core trend is the first since 1995.
By region, seasonally adjusted sales fell 0.8 percent and 0.5 percent in Auckland and Wellington, respectively. All other regions recorded flat or increasing sales.
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June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.