Retail card spending increased 1 per cent during the month of August, lifted by increased fuel spending by consumers, Stats NZ said.

“Apart from fuel, other retail categories also had increased spending in August,” Retail NZ retail statistics manager Sue Chapman said.

“This helped lift overall retail spending to its largest monthly rise since March.”

Spending on fuel jumped 4.1 per cent month to month, up $27 million, while the apparel market rose by $7.6 million, a 2.6 per cent increase over July figures.

The consumables market, or more broadly known as grocery and liquor, saw an increase of $12 million of consumer spending, up 0.6 per cent compared the prior month.

Actual retail spending using electronic cards was $5.2 billion in August, up 6.3 per cent, or $306 million, compared to August 2017.

The figures come a week after national payments provider Paymark noted higher-than-average transactions over the month of August, and that it expects consumer spending to continue to rise in the coming months.