It was seen for the second time in three months, in April that the purchases made in New Zealand on debit, credit and store cards decreased. It was seen that the there was a fall in the house prices and the growth of wages slowed down.

Today it was announced by Statistics New Zealand that the fall on electronic cards was calculated to 1.7% from March when there was a rise by 2%. It was also noted that the transactions fell by 1.9% after eliminating spending at fuel outlets and car workshops.

On April 29, Alan Bollard Reserve Bank Governor maintained the cash rate at a record low 2.5 percent and said that a weak property market and suppressed household borrowing had made the consumers aware.

From the Government figures it was observed that for the second month on April the House prices had dropped. It was also seen that in 9 years the rise in the first quarter wages was the slowest.

"Low wage growth is likely to be encouraging a more modest and gradual path of retail spending. We expect that retail momentum will strengthen later in the year as the labor recovery gains momentum", said Mark Smith, Economist at ANZ National Bank Ltd. in Wellington.