Consumers’ views on finances drop

By Francesca Krakue

19 January 2017

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Recent research has found that households’ views towards their finances compared to a year ago fell by almost 5 per cent last week.

Following a rise to a 15-week high in the previous week, consumer confidence edged down 0.7 per cent to 119.3 in the week ending 15 January, driven by a deterioration in households’ views about their finances.

The latest ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian consumer confidence report found that households’ views towards their finances compared to a year ago fell by 4.8 per cent, more than reversing the gain over the previous week.

Meanwhile, households’ views of economic conditions over the next 12 months remained stable and views on the economic outlook in the next five years rose 0.6 per cent.

Further, the four-week moving average in inflation expectations increased for the second consecutive week, up to 4.3 per cent last week from 4.0 per cent in December, a rise which ANZ said likely reflects the recent acceleration in petrol prices.

“Confidence consolidated last week after the previous week’s spike. At current levels, confidence looks quite robust and continues to suggest a positive outlook for spending,” ANZ senior economist Jo Masters said.

“The labour force report [today] has the potential to impact consumer confidence this week. We are expecting decent job growth in December, but confidence remains vulnerable to a weaker than expected report.”