The retail sector may need to hang on just a little longer

Stats NZ data show retail spending has fallen 0.6 percent in the year to June - driven by a 4.6 percent decline in spending on fuel.

It's also the fifth month in a row of it dropping.

ASB senior economist Kim Mundy says the Reserve Bank may take some pressure off the economy, by easing the official cash rate sooner than expected.

She says they now think OCR cuts are a prospect this year, and we won't have to wait until next year.