Australian weekly consumer sentiment continues to rise

The weekly Australian consumer sentiment continued to rise. The ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian consumer confidence index rose again by 0.8 percent last week. On the contrary to the last week’s reading, financial conditions indices rose significantly. Current financial conditions rose 7.2 percent while future financial condition was up 2.3 percent.

Economic conditions subindices provided some offset, falling in the week. Current and future economic conditions dropped 2.5 percent and 0.3 percent, respectively. The ‘time to buy a household item’ sub0index dropped 1.9 percent. Four-week moving average inflation expectations seem to have stabilized at 4.2 percent.

ANZ Senior Economist Felicity Emmett stated that the resilience of sentient is encouraging given ongoing softness in house prices. This strength is being underpinned by the solid labor market. The recent decline in petrol prices is also possibly aiding in buttress sentiment.

“This week’s GDP and retail sales reports will reveal whether elevated consumer confidence has translated into strength in actual consumer spending. These indicators will be important to watch over coming months to determine if and how the downturn in house prices is feeding through into the real economy”, said Felicity Emmett.

At 12:00 GMT the FxWirePro's Hourly Strength Index of Australian Dollar was slightly bullish at 70.1904, while the FxWirePro's Hourly Strength Index of US Dollar was slightly bearish at -68.6336. For more details on FxWirePro's Currency Strength Index, visit http://www.fxwirepro.com/currencyindex