ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence was down again this week, its 11th consecutive week, and its longest stretch since the index began on a weekly basis in October 2008. The decline in confidence occurred in NSW, Queensland, Western Australian and South Australia, but rose in Victoria.
Concerns about personal finances were spearheading the confidence dip with 56% of respondents ‘‘worse off” financially, a new record high for this indicator and the biggest net negative on this question in the history of the survey.
Among the housing cohorts, confidence fell for people renting, down 4.1%, those paying off their homes was down 2.2% while it rose 2.2% for homeowners.
It was a similar story from the Westpac-Melbourne Institute consumer sentiment index that fell 7.9% with the sharpest falls coming from those on low incomes, renters, mortgagors and women.
All index components fell in the month, and while attitudes towards major household purchases were more settled, they remain at low level by historical standards.
Westpac chief economist, Bill Evans said the improvement over the last two months may be a tentative early sign that the surge in goods prices that has weighed heavily on buyer sentiment over the last year, may be starting to moderate.
However, the May survey is sending mixed messages. “On one hand, consumer sentiment is back near the historic lows we have only seen on a sustained basis in the deep recession of the early 1990s. The entrenched pessimism is clearly reflecting intense pressure on household disposable incomes resulting from high inflation and the sharp rise in interest rates, with a range of spending indicators now pointing to a sharp slowdown.
“On the other hand, the survey continues to show resilience around labour market conditions and signs of renewed confidence in the housing market,” Evans said.