-- Consumer credit demand in New Zealand softened in recent weeks with enquiry volumes easing, but it remained up 1.3% year over year, Centrix said in a new report.
Mortgage enquiries are up more than 11%, auto loan demand is up over 8%, and personal loan enquiries ticked nearly 8% higher. But on the flip side, credit card demand is down past 17%, and retail energy enquiries have fallen more than 28%.
Consumer arrears declined again in March to hit the lowest level since September 2023, although the picture is not uniformly positive as there are still 95,000 consumers who are past 90 days overdue on payments, according to the report.
In terms of sectors, agriculture continues to perform well, but there is weakness across the services economy, and hospitality also remains vulnerable, Centrix said.
The firm noted that there is a broad expectation among economists and business leaders that the full impact of higher fuel prices has not yet filtered through to credit indicators.