Rates yet to halt spending

(Fin24) -  Latest retail sales figures show consumers are   struggling to shell out money for big-ticket items as interest  rates begin to bite.

However, economists point out that retail sales growth is calculated off a high base and credit spending remains robust. 

The retail sales figures for October show that there was an 8.1% decline in sales of household furniture, appliances and equipment in  the three months from August to October compared with the same three months last year.

The Reserve Bank Quarterly Bulletin also says there was a decline year-on-year in real household expenditure on durable goods.  

The bulletin shows overall consumption spending cooled down to a fairly sedate 4.5% in the third quarter of last year from a robust 8.25% for the whole of 2006. 
 

Read more at FIN24