Lifts in personal financial views among the average Australian has bumped up consumer confidence over the last week to its highest result for over two months since early March.
ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence increased 2.7 points to 68.8. This is still 17.6 points lower than a year ago, but is just 2.4 points below the 2026 weekly average of 71.2.
Driving the weekly increase was increasing confidence across the index and especially related to personal financial situations and prospects for the Australian economy over the next year, and next five years.
Now just 14 per cent (up 1ppt) of Australians say their families are ‘better off’ financially than this time last year compared to a majority of 54 per cent (down 2ppts) that say their families are ‘worse off’.
Net views on personal finances over the next year also improved slightly this week with 18 per cent (down 2ppts) of respondents expecting their family will be ‘better off’ financially this time next year, while 43 per cent (down 4ppts) expect to be ‘worse off’.
When it comes to the economy, just 6 per cent (up 1ppt) of Australians expect ‘good times’ over the next year compared to 44 per cent (down 3ppts) that expect ‘bad times’.
Views regarding the Australian economy over the next five years were virtually unchanged this week with 8 per cent (up 1ppt) of Australians expecting ‘good times’ for the economy over the next five years compared to 32 per cent (unchanged) expecting ‘bad times’.
Buying intentions grew for a third straight week, with 16 per cent (up 1ppt) of respondents saying now is a ‘good time to buy’ major household items compared to 45 per cent (down 3ppts) that say now is a ‘bad time to buy major household items’.
ANZ economist Sophia Angala said recent momentum in consumer demand has been soft, and the weak level of consumer confidence supports her view that the Reserve Bank of Australia’s cash rate is likely to remain at 4.35 per cent over the near term – a downer for retailers.
“Weekly inflation expectations declined 0.2ppt to 5.9 per cent last week, their lowest level since the survey week ending 1 March (the last survey period which mostly occurred prior to the escalation in Middle East conflict),” Angala said.
“The pullback in inflation expectations likely reflects recent monthly inflation data, which was softer than expected.”
Across the stats, consumer confidence increased in Victoria, Western Australia, and South Australia, but was unchanged in both New South Wales, and Queensland.