12 Nov 2014

Card spending good sign for retailers

8:36 am on 12 November 2014

Economists say the latest figures on electronic card spending are a sign the retail economy is still looking strong.

Retail spending was up one percent last month, bringing the total increase for the past 12 months to 5.7 percent.

The number of transactions across all industries was up 1.5 percent, with cardholders spending a total of $6.4 billion. The average amount of each transaction was $51.

During September, spending was flat but the latest figures are a return to the upward trend.

Westpac economist Felix Delbruk said there were particularly strong increases in fuel spending and durables, which were both up about 2 percent.

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