Australian consumer confidence bounces to highest since April, remains above the long-run average

ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence bounced 2.4 percent last week, bringing the index to its highest point since early April and above the long-run average. The rise in confidence was broad-based, with all sub-indices posting gains.

The volatility in households’ views around current financial conditions continues, with the sub-index rising 3.8 percent last week. Consumers were less optimistic about future financial conditions. This sub-index rose 0.8 percent last week, only partially offsetting the 1.7 percent decline in the previous week.

Confidence around both current and future economic conditions rose solidly (+3.7 percent and +3.0 percent respectively). The current economic conditions sub-index now sits at its highest point since mid-March.

The 'time to buy a major household item' sub-index rose 1.3 percent last week following a 1.8 percent fall in the previous week. Inflation expectations remain unchanged at 4.2 percent on a four-week moving average basis.

"The improvement in sentiment across the board last week is quite encouraging. The rise in confidence likely reflects ongoing strength in the labour market and appears to have outweighed consumers’ concerns about the rise in retail electricity prices," said David Plank, Head of Australian Economics, ANZ Research.