Australia’s consumer sentiment rose in June

Australia’s consumer confidence ticked higher this month. A modest increase was driven by the conflicting moves of the central bank lowering interest rates and the country’s economy growing at a slower pace, Bloomberg notes. 

According to Westpac Banking Corp., Australia’s consumer sentiment index rose 0.5% to 92.6 points. Despite the improvement, the result is still below the 100 mark separating pessimism from optimism. The bank’s head of Australian macro forecasting, Matthew Hassan, says local households are stuck in the “cautious pessimism” pattern. 

He notes a significant improvement in consumer attitudes towards major purchases in June. The index tracking it jumped by 7.5% to 100.2 points, the first positive result since March 2022.

In May, the Reserve Bank of Australia cut interest rates for the second time this year. Officials expect household spending to rise due to monetary easing, fueling faster economic growth later this year. In Australia, consumption accounts for about half of GDP, Bloomberg adds.