Consumer confidence continues its descent

Consumer confidence dropped 3.5 per cent last week, as Sydney, Victoria and South Australia remained under a lockdown, with cases rising in Sydney despite the tightened restrictions.

All the subindices registered a fall, but the ones that capture current conditions fell furthest. Most notably, 'current economic conditions' dropped 6 per cent. 'Current financial conditions' declined 3.4 per cent.

'Future economic conditions' lost a more modest 0.5 per cent. 'Future financial conditions' softened 1.2 per cent.

'Time to buy a major household item' dropped 6.6 per cent to its lowest level since mid-October 2020. 'Weekly inflation expectations' increased by 0.1ppt to 4.3 per cent, its highest level since late March 2020, with the four-week moving average steady at 4.1 per cent.