Roy Morgan Research (RMR) has today released its weekly consumer confidence index, which registered a small rise following last week’s big drop.
Over the week ended 30 November – 1 December, the RMR index rose by 1.3 points to 120.1, driven mainly by respondents saying now is a ‘good time to buy’ major household items and having more confidence about their own personal financial circumstances (see next chart).
The index is now down 4.1 points (-3.3%) from the high reached in the weekend of 12-13 October.
According to Gary Morgan:
“Consumer Confidence has risen to 120.1 (up 1.3pts) just three weeks before Christmas with 55% (up 4%) of Australians saying now is a ‘good time to buy’ major household items. The rise in Consumer Confidence comes as the Australian Dollar fell to a three-month low below 91US cents. The falling Australian Dollar will put upward pressure on the prices of imported goods, though likely not impact heavily on the stock already available for the Christmas retailing season.”
Here’s how the RMR consumer confidence index is now tracking against the monthly Westpac-Melbourne Institute consumer sentiment index, whose most recent reading registered an increase:
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