Category: consumer confidence

Interest Rate Rises Drive Australian Consumer Confidence Down to Recession Levels

Australian consumers and businesses are increasingly feeling bleaker about the country’s economic outlook as interest rates and inflation continue to rise. Three surveys by Westpac bank and Melbourne Institute, ANZ bank and Roy Morgan, and National Australia Bank (NAB) have found that consumers and mortgage holders are getting more and more pessimistic about the future….


Australian Consumers Are Willing to Spend Despite Pessimistic Sentiment

Australian consumers are still willing to open their wallets despite having low confidence in the economy as retail spending in May hit record levels. New data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) showed that retail trade rose by 0.9 percent to a record of $34.2 billion (US$23.52 billion) in May, marking the fifth consecutive…


Americans Become Deeply Pessimistic About Economy as Consumer Confidence Hits Record Low

American consumers have never been this pessimistic about the economy, with the Michigan University’s consumer confidence index plunging to a record low, as soaring inflation erodes household purchasing power and threatens a cost-of-living crisis. The Michigan University’s consumer sentiment index fell from a reading of 58.4 in May to just 50.0 in June, a record…


New Zealand Consumer Confidence Falls to Lowest Level in Over 30 Years

Consumer confidence in New Zealand has fallen sharply in the June quarter as household budgets get increasingly squeezed from financial pressure, according to Westpac bank. The Westpac McDermott Miller consumer confidence index plunged to the lowest level since the survey began in 1988, down 13 points to 78.7. Readings above 100 indicate optimism (pdf). “The…


Small Business Optimism for Economic Improvement Hits 48-Year Low: Survey

News Analysis The National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB) released its monthly optimism index report on June 14, attesting to the lowest ever score for the 48-year-old metric, as small business owners contend with the pressures of inflation and a tight labor market. The NFIB index fell by 0.1 percentage point from the previous month…


Britons Spend a 3rd More on Utility Bills as They Cancel Digital Subscriptions: Barclaycard

Rising energy prices saw the average spending on utility bills in May jumping by more than a third compared to the same month last year, data from Barclaycard show. The company, which sees nearly half of the UK’s credit and debit card transactions, on Tuesday said its latest monthly Consumer Spending Index indicated a 9.3 percent year-on-year…


Consumer Confidence Weakens on High Inflation, Rising Rates

U.S. consumer confidence fell to a 3-month low in May as soaring prices and rising interest rates fed into a cooling of buying intentions for goods like cars and houses, and as consumers expressed worry about the future pace of inflation. The Conference Board said in a May 31 statement that its Consumer Confidence Index fell…


UK Consumer Confidence Drops to Lowest Level Since Records Began

Consumer confidence in the UK has dropped to the lowest level since records began nearly five decades ago, business intelligence firm Growth from Knowledge (GfK) has said. GfK’s long-running Consumer Confidence Index decreased two points to minus 40 in May, the lowest score since records began in 1974. The data comes as UK inflation reaches…


China’s Consumption Continues to Decline, No Specific GDP Growth Target for 2021–2025

The People’s Bank of China (PBoC) released the “February 2022 Financial Statistics Report” on March 11, showing that China’s consumption continued to decline in February. Loans in February decreased by 125.8 billion yuan (about $20.1 billion) year-on-year, of which medium- and long-term loans to residents declined for the first time in the past 15 years….


Huge Household Debts Weigh on China’s Consumer-Driven Economy: Expert

In the face of an economic slump, China’s State Council emphasized that it would continue the strategy of expanding domestic consumption in its 2022 work report released on March 5. However, boosting the economy by pushing the Chinese people to consume more is likely unattainable for the Communist regime, according to professional analysis. Katherine Jiang, a…