Household spending fell 0.1 per cent in September driven by lower spending across clothing and footwear.
This is according to new data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), which shows that the recent fall in household spending overall follows a 0.2 per cent rise in August and a flat result in July.
“Clothing and footwear was the largest factor in the monthly fall, with spending down 1.8 per cent in this category,” ABS head of business statistics Robert Ewing said. “This reversed the 1.8 per cent rise in August.
“A 0.6 per cent fall in spending on transport also drove the overall decline, as fuel prices fell and households spent less on new vehicle purchases.
“Rises in non-discretionary categories such as food and health, which rose by 0.5 per cent and 0.6 per cent respectively, partly offset these falls.”
Household spending rose in most states and territories compared to the same time last year in calendar-adjusted terms.
The largest percentage rises were seen in Western Australia (up 6 per cent), Queensland (up 3.4 per cent) and the Northern Territory (up 3.2 per cent), while Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory fell 1.3 and 0.1 per cent respectively.
Today’s release also includes quarterly household spending volumes, which are adjusted for inflation.
In the latest quarter, household spending volumes were 0.4 per cent lower than the same time last year in original terms.
Alcoholic beverages and tobacco (down 16.6 per cent) and clothing and footwear (down 2.7 per cent) had the largest annual falls, while furnishings and household equipment rose 5.7 per cent.