• Consumer confidence: The weekly ANZ/Roy Morgan consumer confidence rating rose by 1.8 points (1.6 per cent) to 115.2 in the week to November 1. Confidence is up 0.5 per cent over the year and above the average of 111.4 since 2014.

What does it all mean?

• Aussie consumers are feeling reasonably positive. The cost of living is growing at just a modest pace, the Aussie dollar is comfortable just above US70 cents, petrol prices are low, the sharemarket has been trending higher and there are no “hot button” issues of contention.
• While major banks have announced increases in mortgage rates, interest rates still remain low, around 80 per cent of customers are ahead in loan repayments – some significantly, and borrowers were also buoyed by the prospect that the Reserve Bank is well placed to cut rates again if need be given that inflation is under control.
• The four-week average of consumer confidence is the highest since February 2014, so the Reserve Bank knows that there isn’t an urgency to cut rates.

What do the figures show?

Consumer sentiment

• The weekly ANZ/Roy Morgan consumer confidence rating rose by 1.8 points (1.6 per cent) to 115.2 in the week to November 1. Confidence is up 0.5 per cent over the year and above the average of 111.4 since 2014.
• Three of the five components of the index rose in the latest week:
  –  The estimate of family finances compared with a year ago was up from +4 to +11;
  –  The estimate of family finances over the next year was up from +25 to +27;
  –  Economic conditions over the next 12 months was up from -3 to +2;
  –  Economic conditions over the next 5 years was down from +10 to +6;
  –  The measure of whether it was a good time to buy a major household item was down from +31 points to +30 points.

What is the importance of the economic data?

The ANZ/Roy Morgan weekly survey of consumer confidence closely tracks the monthly Westpac/Melbourne Institute consumer sentiment index but the former measure is a timelier assessment of consumer attitudes and is now monitored by the Reserve Bank.

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