Consumer confidence dropped slightly this week, according to ANZ-Roy Morgan data, falling 1.5%.
The decrease was fueled by small falls in confidence in the outlook for both personal finances and the situation overall. Fewer Australians believe they will be ‘better off’ financially a year from now and fewer expect to have continuous ‘good times’ during the next five years. The ‘time to buy’ a major household item index also decreased slightly.
ANZ head of Australian Economics, David Plank attributed the weakening in consumer confidence to Victoria’s snap lockdown and associated border closures. This was particularly evident in Melbourne, where confidence declined 5.4%, but in the rest of state it increased 7.6%.
“Admittedly, the data for states/cities is inherently more volatile, given the small sample size. While sentiment in Sydney held (up 2.8%) it weakened in the rest of New South Wales (down 1.5%). The Victorian lockdown will undoubtedly have a material impact on spending, however ANZ data shows it will likely rebound quickly when the lockdown eases,” Plank said.