WELLINGTON, July 12 (Xinhua) -- Overall card spending was up 0.9 percent in June, driven by spending on consumable goods, New Zealand's statistics department Stats NZ said on Monday.

Card spending on consumables, which includes spending on groceries, liquor, and specialized food, was up 1.8 percent compared with May. This was the largest growth in any of the core retail industries in June, Stats NZ said.

"Supermarkets have seen the biggest rise in Kiwi spending in June," business statistics manager Ricky Ho said in a statement.

"With some particularly wild weather at the start and end of the month, New Zealanders may have been keener on stocking up on supplies and staying in," Ho said.

While consumables saw the largest increase, spending was steady across the board. Retail spending was up 54 million NZ dollars (37.7 million U.S. dollars), or 0.9 percent, and total spending was up 134 million NZ dollars (93.6 million U.S. dollars), or 1.6 percent, in June compared with May, statistics show.

"Spending remained robust in June, despite Wellington moving into and out of (COVID-19) alert level 2 towards the end of the month," Ho said.

"Unlike the March quarter, which saw several moves up and down COVID alert levels, the June quarter was largely spent at alert level 1," he said, adding this long stretch without COVID restrictions may have helped fuel a strong increase in card spending in the June quarter. Enditem

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