Just one rates pause is enough to fire up consumer confidence
One pause in the interest rate hiking cycle and Australian consumers have started feeling a little better about spending, according to consumer confidence figures from Roy Morgan and the ANZ.
Consumers have started to feel better (Morgan Sette/AAP PHOTOS)
For three straight weeks, the confidence figures have shown improvements, but it was still considered to be “very weak”.
Weekly inflation expectations have dropped and in the category of whether it was a good time to buy a major household item, the indices rose almost three points.
ANZ economist Catherine Birch said the confidence level rose 1.1 points after the Reserve Bank kept the cash rate on hold at its April meeting.
She said it was a positive result and led to a jump in confidence among those who had a mortgage.
“This was the first time confidence had increased for three consecutive weeks since Novemeber, 2022, with a cumulative rise of 2.8 points since mid-March.
Consumers also felt the worst of inflation was in the rearview mirror.
