ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence was down 1.1 points to 85.7 this week but has nevertheless stayed above the mark of 85 for a sixth consecutive week – the first time this has happened for over two years since June 2022.
Consumer confidence is now 9 points above the same week a year ago and 3 points above the 2024 weekly average of 82.7.
The key drivers of this week’s drop is around personal finances and views on the Australian economy ahead.
Now under a quarter of Australians (22 per cent - down 1ppt), say their families are ‘better off’ financially than this time last year compared to 47 per cent (unchanged) that say their families are ‘worse off’.
Views on personal finances over the next year declined this week, with under a third of respondents (32 per cent - down 3ppts) expecting their family to be ‘better off’ financially this time next year, while only 31 per cent (up 1ppt) expect to be ‘worse off’.
Meanwhile, 10 per cent (up 1ppt) expect ‘good times’ for the Australian economy over the next twelve months, compared to 30 per cent (up 3ppts) that expect ‘bad times’.
Net sentiment regarding the Australian economy in the longer term has deteriorated slightly this week with 10 per cent (down 1ppt) of Australians expecting ‘good times’ for the economy over the next five years compared to 19 per cent (unchanged) expecting ‘bad times’.
As we head towards Christmas, buying intentions improved slightly this week with 24 per cent of Australians (unchanged) saying now is a ‘good time to buy’ major household items, compared to a plurality of 43 per cent (down 2ppts) that say now is a ‘bad time to buy’ major household items.
ANZ economist Sophia Angala said consumer confidence still remains within the relatively narrow range of 82-88 since mid-August.
“The decline was largely broad-based, with households feeling less confident about both the financial and economic outlook,” Angala said. “Inflation expectations ticked up 0.3ppt to 5.0 per cent last week, a three-month high.
“‘Time to buy a major household item’ was the only subindex to rise last week, increasing 2.5pts to 81.5pts. The subindex is now at its strongest since late 2022, likely linked to Black Friday sales events.”
Across the states, there were small increases in consumer confidence in New South Wales and South Australia, more than offset by decreases in Victoria, Queensland, and Western Australia.