Recent research has found that consumer confidence towards the economy and future finances remained soft in the week ending 30 October.
The latest ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence report found that after a sharp fall in the previous week, consumer confidence notched up by 0.4 per cent in the week ending 30 October, but emphasised that the details “remain soft”.
According to the report, although consumers’ views towards their future finances bounced 4.3 per cent last week, the increase only partially offset the “sharp drop” the previous week. Views towards finances compared to a year ago declined for the fifth week in a row, down 1.1 per cent on last week.
Households’ view on the economic conditions over the next 12 months dropped by 3.2 per cent, while views towards economic conditions over the next five years fell by 1.6 per cent.
ANZ head of Australian economics Felicity Emmett commented: “While confidence remains well above its long-run average, the uptrend looks to have lost momentum, with the four-week moving average at its lowest level since mid-June.”
“The recent decline in confidence may reflect some concerns over the global outlook, with the presidential election in the US dominating the global news flow.”
“With the election a week away, global uncertainty is likely to dominate domestic events in the very near term,” she concluded.
[Related: Consumer confidence drops to lowest level since May]