8 month lows for Aussie consumer confidence in wake of Federal Budget

By Kirsty Timsans · · 2 min read
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ANZ- Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence has reached new eight month lows with a fall of 0.9% to 108.8 in the week ending on 19 April.

Measured by Roy Morgan on a weekly basis, consumer confidence in the economic outlook, both for the coming year and for the next five years, had fallen for a third consecutive week.

This fall was partially offset by a 2% increase in households’ expectations of their finances for the next 12 months, which Roy Morgan suggested, may be capturing some of the renewed momentum in housing markets.

The lower levels of consumer confidence in recent weeks have been attributed to increased media coverage in the wake of the upcoming Federal Budget.

ANZ Chief Economist Warren Hogan is not surprised by the recent consumer sensitivity to budget news.

“It fits with the theme of the ‘fragile’ consumer we have seen over the last year or so, with confidence falling in response to any bad news around the economy or budget,” he said.

Hogan is referring to last year’s slump in consumer sentiment to its lowest rating for the year at 99.3 shortly following the release of the Coalition’s first budget in May.

“This suggests that negative headlines around the worsening budget position could continue to have an impact on confidence, even if the Government delivers a ‘dull’ budget as expected with few major policy measures.”