Australian weekly consumer sentiment index rises further

The weekly Australian consumer sentiment index rises further. The ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence firmed 1 percent last week, owing to a 2.1 percent rebound in the prior week. The headline rise was mainly due to a sharp increase in the ‘time to buy a household item’ subindex.

Household’s perception of current financial conditions rebounded last week by 0.5 percent, contributing to a 1.2 percent bounce in the prior week. Similarly, sentiment towards future financial conditions rose 0.2 percent last week, after a 3.1 percent rise in the prior week.

Households were less optimistic regarding current economic conditions – their assessment fell 2.1 percent last week, partly reversing the 2.9 percent rise in the prior week. However, views towards future economic conditions were up 0.7 percent, owing to a 6.1 percent rise in the previous week – bringing the subindex to its highest value in seven weeks, noted ANZ in a research report.

The ‘time to buy a household item’ subindex recorded a sharp 5.2 percent rise last week, ending a streak of weekly declines. Four-week moving average inflation expectations remained unchanged at 4.3 percent.

“While the headwinds to households remain, namely sluggish wage growth, falling house prices and high levels of debt, there are certainly some offsets. Income tax cuts, the new Childcare Subsidy and falls in certain utility prices should all help consumers’ wallets, providing some more resilience to the outlook for consumption this year”, stated ANZ Head of Australian Economics, David Plank.

At 12:00 GMT the FxWirePro's Hourly Strength Index of Australia Dollar was neutral at -37.1504, while the FxWirePro's Hourly Strength Index of US Dollar was bullish at 88.0106. For more details on FxWirePro's Currency Strength Index, visit http://www.fxwirepro.com/currencyindex