Aus economy: hopping into recovery mode

ANZ-observed spending excluding petrol for the week to 14 April was up 9 per cent year-on-year (before an expected dip during the Easter public holidays). 

"Confident households are keen to travel. Google searches for cheap flights to Sydney and Melbourne have tripled since January.”

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Non-food retail was up 6 per cent year-on-year while dining was up 4.5 per cent year-on-year during the week to 14 April.

Confident households are keen to travel. Google searches for cheap flights to Sydney and Melbourne have tripled since January and so has ANZ-observed travel agent spending.

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Strong spending on accommodation and transport (including local car services, public transport services and airfares) signals households are not slowing down discretionary spending, despite heightened awareness of inflation.

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Local discretionary spending on dining and entertainment has also risen quickly since January.

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Interestingly, central business district (CBD) visitors are coming back faster than workers.

Weekday café transactions still show workers are keen to stay home although CBD accommodation spending is rapidly improving.

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Shopping in-store in Melbourne and Sydney is also drifting up. The national share of shopping, dining and grocery spending that occurs online seems to have stabilised.

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Adelaide Timbrell is a Senior Economist at ANZ