ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence dropped 0.9pts to 83.0 this week, a result that sees Consumer Confidence now spending a record 81 straight weeks below the mark of 85.

According to latest polling data, Consumer Confidence is 7.2 points above the same week a year ago, August 14-20, 2023 (75.8), and 2.1 points above the 2024 weekly average of 81.9. However, a look at Consumer Confidence by State shows the index decreasing in most States including New South Wales, Victoria, Western Australia and South Australia. The exception is Queensland, where confidence is up slightly.

Roy Morgan attributed this week's decrease to a fall in confidence about buying conditions, noting it's fallen to its lowest for over a month.

As of this week, nearly a quarter of Australians, 23% (down 1ppt), say their families are 'better off' financially than this time last year compared to 47% (unchanged) that say their families are 'worse off'.

Views on personal finances over the next year were virtually unchanged this week with nearly a third of respondents, 32% (unchanged) of Australians expecting their family to be 'better off' financially this time next year equal to the 32% (down 1ppt), are expecting to be 'worse off'.

Net sentiment regarding the Australian economy in the longer term was virtually unchanged this week with only 11% (up 1ppt) of Australians expecting 'good times' for the economy over the next five years compared to over a sixth, 18% (down 1ppt), expecting 'bad times'.

When it comes to spending, buying intentions dropped to their lowest in a month with only 20% of Australians saying now is a 'good time to buy' major household items (down 4ppts) compared to a large plurality of 49% (up 2ppts) that say now is a 'bad time to buy' major household items.

"ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence eased 0.9pts last week, driven by a 6.0pt fall in the 'time to buy a major household item' subindex. The current financial situation subindex also declined 1.9pts, but it is still up 5.2pts over the past two weeks and 9.6pts compared to the start of July. Despite some volatility in the week-to-week data, it appears the Stage 3 tax cuts are supporting confidence," said Madeline Dunk, ANZ Economist.

In terms of the broader economy, only 8% of Australians expect 'good times' over the next twelve months, while 33% anticipate 'bad times'. Over the next five years, 11% expect 'good times', while 18% foresee 'bad times'.

"Notably, inflation expectations fell to 4.7%, their lowest level since January 2022, before inflation picked up materially in Australia. It's been a bumpy path down for inflation expectations since the peak of 6.8% in November 2022, and that bumpiness has been evident in other measures like the NAB business survey's price measures. The NAB measures are now consistent with inflation sitting around 2.5%. We'll be watching to see if inflation expectations continue to moderate over the coming weeks."