Consumer confidence declines, inflation steady

Consumer confidence dipped by 0.8 points last week to 82.3, with the four-week moving average also declining to 82.8 points.

“The trend in ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian consumer confidence has plateaued, with the four-week moving average largely steady since early August,” said ANZ economist Madeline Dunk (pictured above).

Inflation expectations remain stable

Inflation expectations held steady at 4.6%, a 32-month low, with the four-week moving average falling slightly to 4.7%.

“Lower petrol prices may be supporting this shift,” Dunk said.

The Reserve Bank is likely to welcome this result as stable inflation expectations can help support economic growth and job creation.

Mixed financial sentiment

“Current financial conditions” improved by 2.7 points, but “future financial conditions” dropped by 2 points, reflecting uncertainty about the year ahead.

“The Stage 3 tax cuts and cost-of-living relief do not appear to be progressively boosting households’ confidence,” Dunk said.

Short-term economic confidence declines

Both short-term and medium-term economic confidence declined, with the “short-term economic confidence” subindex dropping 1.8 points and the “medium-term” index falling by 2.7 points. Despite this, the “time to buy a major household item” subindex saw a slight increase of 0.1 points.

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