Consumer Confidence: labour market provides support

ANZ SENIOR ECONOMIST, JO MASTERS, COMMENTED

“Confidence bounced last week likely buoyed by the solid jobs report out on Thursday, which showed 44,000 new jobs were created in July. Domestic data seem to have outweighed ongoing global trade concerns, but geopolitical events are continuing to evolve and may come back in focus given the light data calendar this week.

Encouragingly, views toward current financial conditions largely recovered from their sharp fall the previous week. We also think it noteworthy that after falling quite sharply over the last two months, the ‘time to buy a household item’ sub-index appears to have stabilised, albeit around its lowest level in a year. We are closely watching this sub-index as it provides some insight into how falling house prices may be impacting household spending.

Overall, while confidence has fallen from its high in June, it remains well above average levels and, in four-week moving average terms, confidence appears to be past its low.”

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