Continuing lockdown extensions in Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra have not dented consumer confidence with the latest ANZ-Roy Morgan data showing a slight 0.5% increase.
The increase in consumer confidence this week was driven by improving sentiment about people’s personal financial situations compared to a year ago. The time to buy a major household item index also improve slightly, up 1%.
ANZ head of Australian Economics, David Plank, said the overall figure was due to rises of 8.0% in South Australia, 11.4% in Western Australia and 1.7% in Brisbane.
“The news about the strength of the labour market in July with the unemployment rate dropping to 4.6%, might have added to the positive outlook too,” he said.
Not surprisingly, confidence in Victoria and NSW remained at the lowest level among the states, falling 2.9% and 1.9% respectively. But even with this drop, sentiment in these two states remains well above the lows of last year. “This supports our expectation that household spending will likely rebound sharply in lockdown areas when restrictions ease,” Plank said.