Electronic Card Transactions: August 2008

 For August 2008 compared with July 2008 (on a seasonally adjusted basis):

• The value of the total Electronic Card Transaction (ECT) series was 0.8 percent higher.
• The value of the retail ECT series was 1.1 percent higher.
• The value of the core retail ECT series was 1.7 percent higher.
• Consumables were the main contributor to the increases in all three series

Other highlights include:

• The trend value of the total ECT series was 5.1 percent higher in August 2008 than in August 2007; this was the slowest annual increase since the series started.
• The 85 million electronic card transactions with New Zealand-based merchants in August 2008 totalled $4.6 billion.

Government Statistician