Consumer confidence: back above 80
• Consumer confidence rose 3.3pts last week to 80.3pts. The four-week moving average fell 0.4pts to 79.5pts.
• ‘Weekly inflation expectations’ ticked up 0.1ppt to 4.9 per cent, keeping the four-week moving average unchanged at 4.9 per cent.
• ‘Current financial conditions’ (over last year) softened 0.3pts, while ‘future financial conditions’ (next 12 months) jumped 9.9pts.
• ‘Short-term economic confidence’ (next 12 months) was up 5.4pts and ‘medium-term economic confidence’ (next five years) rose 1.1pts.
• The ‘time to buy a major household item’ subindex increased 0.7pts.
ANZ Senior Economist, Catherine Birch, commented: “ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence rose back above 80 last week, nearly reversing the previous week’s drop. Confidence in both personal finances and economic conditions over the next 12 months drove the rebound, jumping 9.9pts and 5.4pts, respectively. The former hit a 12-week high following last week’s 6-month low.
Among the housing cohorts, confidence rose for those who own their homes outright and for those paying off their homes, while it fell for the renters. Confidence among renters fell below those with mortgages for the first time in six weeks.”