Dec 21, 2021
January 11, 2022
Omicron weighs on consumer confidence
Consumer confidence fell 2.2 per cent lower compared to the last survey of 2021 (conducted on the 18 the and 19th of December) as cases of the omicron variant of COVID-19 surged in all states and territories other than Western Australia.
The confidence subindices registered mixed results. ‘Current financial conditions’ increased by 1.4 per cent and ‘future financial conditions’ rose 0.7 per cent.
‘Current economic conditions’ fell 8.7 per cent to its lowest level since the last week of September 2021. ‘Future economic conditions’ gained 2.8 per cent.
‘Time to buy a major household item’ declined 4.9 per cent. ‘Weekly inflation expectations’ dropped 0.1 percentage points to 4.9 point, while its four-week moving average was unchanged at 4.9 per cent.
"Consumer confidence began the year on a downbeat note, with a decline of 2.2 per cent compared to the pre-Christmas level," ANZ Head of Australian Economics, David Plank said. "The rapid rise of omicron cases across Australia is likely responsible for the dampened outlook in the first week of January."
"Confidence fell in all the major capitals, with Adelaide faring the worst."
"Over the decade from 2011 to 2020, consumer confidence has risen 2.6 per cent on average in the first survey of January compared to the last prior to Christmas. So this result is even weaker than it seems."
"Consistent with the drop in confidence, ANZ-observed spending is at its lowest level since the delta lockdowns."
"The good news is people are still relatively happy about their own financial circumstances. This potentially sets things up for a rapid rebound once people are more confident about health outcomes."
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