Invest
Consumer confidence crumbles as catastrophic fires continue
The bushfire disaster has taken a toll on consumers’ confidence in the Australian economy as a whole, according to new research.
Consumer confidence crumbles as catastrophic fires continue
The bushfire disaster has taken a toll on consumers’ confidence in the Australian economy as a whole, according to new research.
The latest ANZ-Roy Morgan consumer confidence survey revealed that confidence is at a four-year low despite it being at the start of the year when Aussies are typically more upbeat about their future.
Consistent with this, the weakness in confidence was due to a big drop in the economic outlook. “Current economic conditions” were down by a massive 12.9 per cent, while “future economic conditions” fell 8.1 per cent.
“Current economic conditions are at their lowest level since the global financial crisis, while sentiment towards the future economic outlook is at its lowest level since 1994,” the survey revealed.
David Plank, ANZ head of Australian economics, said, “Against the backdrop of the weekend’s catastrophic bushfires, it is not surprising that consumer confidence declined.
“But the reported decline of 1.7 per cent since the last survey in mid-December understates the weakness when one considers that the New Year usually sees a strong gain in sentiment.”
Despite confidence falling, the index remains above 100 points, indicating consumers are more optimistic than pessimistic.
In contrast, financial conditions gained. “Current finances” rose 4 per cent, while “future finances” were up 0.3 per cent.
“The ‘time to buy a household item’ gained 4.8 per cent, recovering from a fall of 6.4 per cent seen in the last reading of the previous year,” Mr Plank said.
The four-week moving average of “inflation expectations” was stable at 4.0 per cent, though weekly readings saw a sharp fall, which should result in a weaker reading in the coming week.
“This offers the prospect that the impact on overall consumer confidence from the weekend’s terrible events may be relatively short-lived. The policy steps taken by the federal government in recent days could contribute to that outcome. We are mindful, of course, that there is likely still bad news to come about the impact of last weekend’s fires. There is also a lot of hot and dry weather to come before the bushfire season is over,” Mr Plank concluded.
About the author
About the author
Stock market
Could this bull market be losing steam?
There’s an old investment adage that bull markets never die of old age, with the current market showing signs of cracking just months after the recovery, an industry expert warns. ...Read more
Stock market
Super fund investors bid to acquire Sydney Airport
A group of super fund investors has lodged a non-binding takeover bid for Sydney Airport, valuing the company at over $22 billion. ...Read more
Stock market
10 most globally held stocks revealed
Australian investors remain bullish on electric vehicles and technology stocks, according to their long-term held positions, new research has shown. ...Read more
Stock market
How ‘gamer investors’ are pushing a new wave of social responsibility
A new generation of younger retail investors are pushing a new social movement, yielding a distributive impact on the markets, most notably through the GameStop saga, two researchers have revealed. ...Read more
Stock market
ASX tipped for record high despite inflation fears
The market is tipped to shake off fears of rising inflation, with the ASX 200 now tipped to close the year at a new record high, an economist has revealed. ...Read more
Stock market
‘Commission-free propaganda’: Warning issued for retail investors
The phrase “if you’re not paying for it, you’re the product” applies just as much to stock trading apps as it does to social media networks. ...Read more
Stock market
Is the tech sell-off creating opportunities for investors?
A tech sell-off sparked by inflation concerns has seen world markets crash. But is it creating an opportunity for investors to ‘buy the dip’? ...Read more
Stock market
Government opens arms to Wall Street
In its bid to maintain Australia’s global competitiveness, albeit its firmly shut borders, the Australian government has included a measure in its recent budget to allow foreign financial services p...Read more
The Olympic effect on property and equity investors; COVID-19 Disaster Payments and super
Listen now
Do lockdowns boost property prices? Are short-sellers levelling the playing field? Did you lodge your tax returns early?
Listen now
Will lockdowns halt the housing boom? Is the metaverse taking over? And the cons of lodging your tax returns early
Listen now
Are you being priced out of the market? Have you got the Tuesday blues? And are you ready for the upcoming super changes?
Listen now
Stock market
Could this bull market be losing steam?
There’s an old investment adage that bull markets never die of old age, with the current market showing signs of cracking just months after the recovery, an industry expert warns. ...Read more
Stock market
Super fund investors bid to acquire Sydney Airport
A group of super fund investors has lodged a non-binding takeover bid for Sydney Airport, valuing the company at over $22 billion. ...Read more
Stock market
10 most globally held stocks revealed
Australian investors remain bullish on electric vehicles and technology stocks, according to their long-term held positions, new research has shown. ...Read more
Stock market
How ‘gamer investors’ are pushing a new wave of social responsibility
A new generation of younger retail investors are pushing a new social movement, yielding a distributive impact on the markets, most notably through the GameStop saga, two researchers have revealed. ...Read more
Stock market
ASX tipped for record high despite inflation fears
The market is tipped to shake off fears of rising inflation, with the ASX 200 now tipped to close the year at a new record high, an economist has revealed. ...Read more
Stock market
‘Commission-free propaganda’: Warning issued for retail investors
The phrase “if you’re not paying for it, you’re the product” applies just as much to stock trading apps as it does to social media networks. ...Read more
Stock market
Is the tech sell-off creating opportunities for investors?
A tech sell-off sparked by inflation concerns has seen world markets crash. But is it creating an opportunity for investors to ‘buy the dip’? ...Read more
Stock market
Government opens arms to Wall Street
In its bid to maintain Australia’s global competitiveness, albeit its firmly shut borders, the Australian government has included a measure in its recent budget to allow foreign financial services p...Read more
More articles
Website Notifications
Get notifications in real-time for staying up to date with content that matters to you.
