Overall retail sales increased throughout New Zealand in the third quarter of the year, according to the latest findings published by Stats NZ.

Despite mounting inflation fears and a likely recession, these results showed sales edged up 0.4% in the three months to September, even when adjusted for inflation.

This represented a significant improvement on the second quarter’s figures when sales declined 2.3%, New Zealand Herald reports.

Compared to last year, sales across the retail sector rose 4.9%. This sector represents a substantial section of the country’s economy and is a key employer.

According to Stats NZ, a rise in food and drink sales fuelled the majority of the increase. Indeed, sales volumes in restaurants, bars and takeaway venues increased 30% year-on-year.

This survey includes businesses such as petrol stations, supermarkets, bars, restaurants and hotels and measures firms’ sales and stock that provide household and personal goods and services.

In Q2, New Zealand’s seasonally adjusted retail sales stood at $26 billion, marking a 2.3% fall on Q1’s figures. Yet ANZ Bank had forecast an increase of 1%, the New Zealand Herald report adds.

These latest statistics may indicate quarterly GDP, yet economists at the bank didn’t make any bold predictions.

“Clearly, the GDP data and its components remain very volatile, and it’ll likely stay that way until border reopening impacts have washed out,” the ANZ economists stated, adding that these impacts may continue until late summer.

“The outlook for household spending has deteriorated with Wednesday’s hawkish OCR hike from the Reserve Bank.

“The RBNZ made it clear that they need spending to fall to tame inflation, and they’ll get it too – it’s just a question of how high the OCR needs to go,” ANZ added.

This week the central bank hiked the official cash rate from 3.5% to 4.25%.

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