Consumer confidence: softened

Consumer confidence decreased by 2.4pts. Among the mainland states, confidence rose in SA and WA, while it fell in NSW, Victoria, and Queensland.

‘Weekly inflation expectations’ jumped 0.3ppt to 5.5%. Its four-week moving average remained at 5.4%.

‘Current financial conditions’ declined 1.1pts. ‘Future financial conditions’ were down 4.2pts after a 7.6pts rise in the previous week.

‘Current economic conditions’ fell 3.6pts more than reversing its gains from the week before. ‘Future economic conditions’ fell 3.3pts.

‘Time to buy a major household item’ rose slightly by 0.2pts after a cumulative 4.5pts fall over the previous two weeks.

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ANZ Senior Economist Adelaide Timbrell said: “ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence fell last week, perhaps driven by some weakness in the Australian dollar. Though the four-week moving average of the consumer confidence index continued to edge higher.

“Among the housing cohorts, confidence fell among outright homeowners and those renting, while it was nearly unchanged for those paying of their homes. Household inflation expectations jumped to 5.5% last week from 5.2% the week before.”

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