Consumer confidence falls for fourth week

Consumer confidence continues to weaken, falling 1 per cent last week. All the subindices declined except for ‘current finances’.

Financial conditions were mixed, with ‘current finances’ gaining 2.3 per cent while ‘future finances’ declined by 2.5 per cent.

‘Current economic conditions’ declined for the fifth straight week, falling 1.5 per cent, while ‘future economic conditions’ fell 2.7 per cent.

‘Time to buy a household item’ saw a marginal decline, falling 0.1 per cent. ‘Inflation expectations’ gained 0.1 percentage point to 3.3 per cent (four-week moving average), its highest level since the end of May.

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"Confidence continues to decline as the situation in Melbourne worsens and the number of cases in Sydney rises," ANZ Head of Australian Economics, David Plank said. "The decline in sentiment is nowhere near as severe as the fall seen in mid-March, however."

"The resilience shown by the ‘current finances’ sub-index, which has actually risen a touch since the end of May as overall sentiment has fallen by almost 8 per cent, is also encouraging."

"Australia’s success in combating the first surge in the pandemic, as well as the expectation that the Government stands ready to extend support if required, is underpinning this resilience."

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