Consumer confidence dropped 1.3 per cent over the weekend of February 13 and 14, but remains near its long-run average. The assessment deteriorated on all subindices, except 'current financial conditions'.
'Current financial conditions' was up 0.2 per cent, while 'future financial conditions' dropped 2.8 per cent, its sharpest weekly decline in over seven months.
'Current economic conditions' declined 1.8 per cent and 'future economic conditions' weakened 1.8 per cent. 'Time to buy a major household item' softened 0.3 per cent. The four-week moving average for inflation expectations was steady at 3.7 per cent.
"The weakness in consumer confidence comes on the back of Victoria's snap lockdown and associated border closures," ANZ Head of Australian Economics David Plank said.
"This was particularly evident in Melbourne, where confidence declined 5.4 per cent, while in the rest of Victoria it actually increased 7.6 per cent. Admittedly, the data for states/cities is inherently more volatile, given the small sample size."
"Sentiment in Sydney held up (up 2.8 per cent) even as it weakened in the rest of New South Wales (down 1.5 per cent). While the
Victorian lockdown will undoubtedly have a material impact on spending, ANZ observed data shows it will likely rebound quickly when the lockdown eases."
