Household spending surge portends strong Q4 GDP

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Household consumption is by far the biggest driver of the nation’s economic growth, accounting for around 55% of final demand in a typical quarter. Therefore, where household consumption goes, the economy usually follows:

Yesterday, the ABS released its first experimental Monthly Household Spending Indicator, which “uses aggregated, de-identified banks transactions data to produce more frequent household spending insights”.

As shown below, household spending accelerated in the final quarter of 2021:

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About the author
Leith van Onselen is Chief Economist at the MB Fund and MB Super. He is also a co-founder of MacroBusiness. Leith has previously worked at the Australian Treasury, Victorian Treasury and Goldman Sachs.
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