Consumer confidence rises as Sydney leaves lockdown

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October 14 2021
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The end of lockdown saw consumer confidence get a healthy bump upwards.

An end to Sydney’s long-running lockdown has seen consumer confidence swing upwards.

“Consumer confidence increased by 1.0 per cent nationally as Sydney was poised to come out of its long lockdown,” said ANZ head of Australian economics David Plank.

According to the latest ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence tracker, consumer confidence was up for the fifth straight week as of mid-October.

While confidence remains below the 2021 average, the tracker noted that current levels represent an increase on the same period in 2020.

A 2.5 per cent increase in consumer confidence for Sydneysiders was supported by a strong 14.4 per cent increase in Brisbane and a 3.1 per cent increase in Perth.

“Sentiment in Sydney and NSW could also rise on a successful reopening, though we do note that confidence in Sydney is already a touch above its average for 2021,” Mr Plank said.

He suggested that recent rises have been partially offset by falls in Adelaide and Melbourne of 3.4 per cent and 3.6 per cent, respectively.

“The dampened outlook in Melbourne may reflect rapidly rising COVID case numbers in the city,” Mr Plank said.

Noting that more than 84 per cent of the adult population in Victoria has been vaccinated at least once, he predicted that the state’s daily cases should peak soon, “which should provide a boost to Melbourne ahead of its reopening”.

Nationally, the latest ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence tracker also found that buying intentions increased, with 37 per cent of Australians are looking to shop for major household items while 30 per cent held off for now.

Similarly, a rising 17 per cent of Australians expressed an expectation that the Australian economy would experience good times over the next 12 months and a falling 23 per cent felt less optimistic about the coming year.

The latest Westpac-Melbourne Institute Index of Consumer Sentiment for Australia largely mirrored these trends. It found a clear majority of optimists, but little difference in state-by-state readings compared to September.

“Consumers in NSW and Victoria are clearly looking towards their states’ reopening as vaccine coverage reaches globally competitive rates,” Westpac chief economist Bill Evans said.

About the author

Fergus is a journalist for Momentum Media's nestegg and Smart Property Investment. He likes to write about money, markets, how innovation is changing the financial landscape and how younger consumers can achieve their goals in unpredictable times.

About the author

Fergus is a journalist for Momentum Media's nestegg and Smart Property Investment. He likes to write about money, markets, how innovation is changing the financial landscape and how younger consumers can achieve their goals in unpredictable times.

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