Confidence Levels Lift for Three Weeks Straight, but Aren’t Stable Just Yet

With the ongoing decrease in petrol prices, confidence among Australian shoppers is increasing, the report has shared.

Over the last three weeks, there have been ongoing increases in consumer confidence, indicating that the drop experienced in the early weeks of March was temporary.

The current levels of confidence are, in fact, now at their highest point since March 6th, David Plank, the ANZ Head of Australian Economics said. “It is interesting to note that, in a mirror image, household inflation expectations at 5.3 percent were at their lowest level since 6 March, as petrol prices declined for a fourth straight week,” he explained.

“The significant negative correlation between consumer confidence and inflation expectations at the current juncture likely reflects the perceived impact of higher prices on living standards when wages growth remains weak.”

However, even with these lifts week after week, the levels remain below the neutral level of 100, suggesting there is a long way to go before conditions return to a stable level.

In terms of shopping intentions, one third (33 percent) of Australians say that now is a good time to buy a major household item – an uplift of one percentage point. There was a minor dip for those who say that now is a bad time to buy, dropping two percentage points to 38 percent.

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