New Zealand Debit, Credit Card Spending Falls 0.1% (Update1)

New Seeland consumer disbursement on debit,
credit and shop card game drop in February, adding to marks record-
high involvement rates and a slumping lodging marketplace are curbing
domestic demand.

The value of minutes on electronic card game at retailers
declined 0.1 percentage from January, said in
an e-mailed statement today. Minutes excluding combustible and
vehicle gross sales rose 0.6 percent.

Reserve Depository Financial Institution Governor kept the functionary hard cash rate
unchanged at a record-high 8.25 percent this calendar month to combat
inflation, which is he anticipates will be above his mark scope until
mid 2009. Slowing consumer disbursement proposes economical will
slow sharply this year, increasing the prospect of charge per unit cuts before
Christmas.

''Spending have gone nowhere in the first two calendar months of the
year,'' said , main economic expert for Deutsche Depository Financial Institution silver in
Auckland. ''This is good news for the Modesty Bank. There could be
an earlier and more than significant charge per unit cut than expected.''

Bollard said on March 6 that involvement may have got to stay
high for a ''significant period.'' Eight of 15 economic experts surveyed
by Bloomberg News anticipate he will maintain adoption costs unchanged all
year. Seven prognosis a cut during 2008.

There is a greater opportunity of two quarter-point charge per unit cuts in
the 4th quarter, said Gibbs.

Housing Slump

''People are more than cautious,'' said Gibbs. ''That reflects a
lot of negative talking since the bend of the twelvemonth around housing, the
drought and offshore conditions.''

While Bollard have kept involvement rates unchanged since July,
the rise international cost of recognition have prompted Banks to raise
home-loan rates.

A drought in the South Island and parts of the North Island
has cut farm production.

House drop 32 percentage in February and terms dropped to
a 12-month low, according to Real Number Estate Institute figures.

Finance Curate yesterday said he couldn't
rule out the possibility the economic system may fall into recession.

Gibbs said regardless of whether there is a recession, growth
will decelerate substantially this twelvemonth to about 1 percentage from 3 percent
in 2007. That volition supply the accelerator for charge per unit cuts, he said.

Total card transactions, which include disbursement on medical
services and public utility payments that are not measured by retail sales
figures, drop 0.2 percentage from January, the statistics federal agency said.

The said the retail transactions
series stands for about 58 percentage of entire retail sales.

To reach the newsman on this story:
in Duke Of Wellington at
.