Confidence rebounds a touch

ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence rebounded 1.2% from its multi-year low reading last week, its first gain in four weeks. The biggest gain in the sub-indices was the 5.3% jump in the ‘Time to buy a household item’, albeit from a ten-year low in the previous reading. The other sub-components were mixed.

Current finances fell 1.6%, while future financial conditions gained 4.2%.

Current economic conditions declined 4.1%, to its lowest point in four years. Future economic conditions gained 1%, though this comes after a cumulative loss of almost 10% over the prior two weeks.

The four-week moving average of inflation expectations was up 0.1ppt to 4.0% as the weekly reading jumped from 3.8% to 4.1%. 

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ANZ Head of Australian Economics, David Plank, commented:

On the back of strength in future finances and ‘time to buy a household item’, consumer confidence recovered some lost ground – though it was only a modest gain after three weeks of decline. Weakness in economic conditions is still a concern, considering it is around multi-year lows. This week’s data could significantly impact sentiment, especially Q3 GDP. Annual growth may accelerate a touch, as last year’s weak Q3 report drops out, but this hardly points to an economy that is undergoing more than a gentle turn. And yesterday’s ANZ job ads for November highlighted that a gentle turn is unlikely to be enough to stop the unemployment rate moving higher. Consumer sentiment looks set to be challenged for a while yet. 

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