The ANZ-Roy Morgan Research (RMR) consumer confidence index rose for the second week in a row, rising by 1.7 points to 112.5 in the week ended 1 March, to be tracking just below the long-run average (see next chart).
The rise in confidence was driven by an overall improvement in the outlook of consumers for the next 1 to 5 years and an improvement in the answer to the “time to buy a major household item” question.
Nevertheless, ANZ chief economist, Warren Hogan, remains unconvinced that confidence will continue improving over coming months, noting that the labour market and wages would need to improve for confidence to experience a “sustained lift” in the year ahead.
The below chart plots the most recent Westpac-Melbourne Institute Consumer Sentiment index against the latest ANZ-RM Consumer Confidence index, which have converged recently:
