Retail spending on electronic cards rose in October, boosted by spending on fuel.

Total retail spending on electronic cards, which covers debit, credit and charge card transactions with New Zealand-based merchants, saw a 0.1 per cent increase between September and October, seasonally adjusted, after a 1.1 per cent increase in September, according to figures released by Statistics New Zealand said.

Core retail spending, excluding vehicle-related industries, was flat.

Statistics NZ’s data shows electronic card spending rose in four of the six retail industries in October, with fuel seeing a 1.4 per cent increase to $9.1 million; durables, 0.4 per cent to $4.7 million ; hospitality, up $2.3 million (0.2 percent) and consumables, up $1.5 million (0.1 percent).

Vehicles, excluding fuel, was down 2 per cent to $3.5 million and apparel dipped 1.2 per cent to $3.7 million.

Cardholders across all industries made 150 million transactions in the month, up from 143 million in September. The average value per transaction rose to $49 in October, up from $48 in September.