This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
CONSUMER confidence rose last week on the back of the Reserve Bank shifting its language in a more dovish direction as it kept interest rates on hold.
The weekly ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence index rose 1.4 points to 83.1, above the four-week average of 820, following the RBA’s announcement and labour market data surprised to the upside, with employment rising by over 100,000 in February.
However, consumer confidence remains well below the monthly average of 110.5 seen since 1990.
The RBA board held the cash rate at 4.35% at its March meeting, and softened its tightening bias, ANZ head of economics Adam Boynton said. However, the central bank’s governor, Michele Bullock held a tight line that it “can’t rule anything in or out” on future interest rate movements with a watch on inflation still having to come back to its target band.
The ANZ Roy-Morgan index showed recent progress in the index’s inflation expectations hit a roadblock, with the series rising 0.3 points to 5.1%.
Confidence amongst renters lifted 7.1 points to its highest level since early January, but remains the least confident amongst the three housing cohorts. Confidence is currently three points lower for renters compared to households paying off a mortgage.
Short-term economic confidence, regarding the 12-month outlook, declined 1.1 points, while the medium-term outlook, for the next five years, rose 2.1 points.
