Consumer confidence rose 1.4 per cent last week, with most subindices except ‘future economic conditions’ recording an uptick.
‘Current finances’ rose by 3.7 per cent, while ‘future finances’ rose by 1.2 per cent.
‘Current economic conditions’ rose by 0.5 per cent, while ‘future economic conditions’ declined by 3.2 per cent. The fall in ‘future economic conditions’ came after a large rise of 4.1 per cent last week.
‘Time to buy a household item’ rose by 5.3 per cent last week. The four-week moving average for ‘inflation expectations’ was steady at 3.3 per cent, while the weekly reading was unchanged at 3.2 per cent.
“Consumer confidence rose for the second consecutive week. It was weaker in Melbourne, though, dropping more than 5 per cent from the prior week,” ANZ Head of Australian Economics David Plank said. “This suggests the announcement of the long path out of lockdown restrictions negatively impacted sentiment.”
“Confidence was also weaker in Sydney, dropping more than 3 per cent from the previous week. Confidence was higher across regional Victoria, and is now back above the neutral level of 100 in Perth.”
“Across the sub-indices, the ‘time to buy a major household item’ index is above the neutral level of 100 for the first time since end June. It joins ‘future finances’ above the neutral level.”
“As discussions pick up around the October budget, we will be watching for signs that talk about tax cuts and job creation measures may impact consumer confidence.”
