Consumer confidence fell 1.8 points last week to 81.3 points. The four-week moving average rose 0.6 points to 81.8 points.
‘Weekly inflation expectations’ lifted 0.1 percentage point to 5.1 per cent while the four-week moving average edged up to 5.1 per cent.
‘Current financial conditions’ (over last year) decreased 2.2 points, while ‘future financial conditions’ (next 12 months) fell 4.9 points.
‘Short-term economic confidence’ (next 12 months) was unchanged while ‘medium-term economic confidence’ (next five years) fell 2.9 points.
The ‘time to buy a major household item’ subindex was up 1.3 points.
“ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence recorded another decline for a second consecutive week, following a six-month high a fortnight ago,” ANZ Economist Sophia Angala said.
“Weekly inflation expectations rose 0.1 points to 5.1 per cent despite second quarter Consumer Price Index data printing largely in line with the RBA’s expectations, alleviating concerns around a potential cash rate hike. This would usually be a positive for consumer confidence. However, coverage of the heightened recession concerns in the US over the weekend may have offset this.
“The positive impact of Stage 3 tax cuts appears to be waning, driven by a 4.9 point drop in households’ confidence in their own financial conditions over the next 12 months, one of the largest weekly falls for this subindex in 2024 so far. However, the boost to disposable incomes from the tax cuts may still be supporting the ‘time to buy a major household item’ subindex, which lifted
1.3 points last week.”
