However, higher fuel prices and the talk of lower business confidence had not deterred consumers from spending elsewhere, a Paymark spokesman said. The ANZ Job Ads index could also point to improved spending confidence among some New Zealanders. Job advertisements rose 0.6% in August, up 5% on a year ago. In recent months, there had been moderate gains in job advertisements but, as a trend, job advertisements had cooled, consistent with softer employment intentions in the ANZ Business Outlook survey. Growth in retail job advertisements remained weak.

Source: Otago Daily Times September 06, 2018 16:30 UTC