Napier Port has overtaken Ports of Auckland to become the North Island’s second largest export port, its annual results show. The East Coast port’s annual report shows a 2 percent increase in exports to over 3.7 million tonnes, much of it being forestry-based products. Log volumes were close to 1 million tonnes. An 8.5% lift in the number of containers …

New Zealand retail spending on debit, credit and charge cards rose more than expected last month, stoking optimism for a fourth-quarter rebound in fourth-quarter sales after a surprise decline in the third quarter. Electronic card transactions rose 0.5 percent, seasonally adjusted in November, following a 0.4 percent increase in the previous month, according to Statistics New Zealand. Actual sales rose …

The government’s second round of tenders for oil and gas exploration blocks has yielded 10 new exploration licences, including two in the previously unexplored Pegasus Basin to deep-sea exploration specialist Anadarko. The Pegasus Basin is south of the bottom tip of the North Island, and sees the Texas-based explorer adding to its existing suite of deep-sea territories in the Taranaki …