ECONOMIC INDICATORS – AUSTRALIA

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence increased 2 points to 70.8 in early June – first time above 70 since early March

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 11-Jun-26

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence rose 2 points to 70.8 in the week to 7 June; this is the first time the index has been above the mark of 70 for over two months. However, Consumer Confidence is 15.9pts lower than a year ago (86.7), and just 0.4pts below the 2026 weekly average of 71.2. Analysis by State shows that Consumer Confidence increased in New South Wales, and Queensland, but was down slightly in Victoria, Western Australia and South Australia. Now just 15% of Australians (up 1ppt) say their families are ‘better off’ financially than this time last year, while 55% (up 1ppt) say their families are ‘worse off’. Looking forward, 22% (up 4ppts) of respondents expect their family to be ‘better off’ financially this time next year, while 43% (unchanged) expect to be ‘worse off’. Only 6% (unchanged) of respondents expect ‘good times’ for the Australian economy over the next 12 months, while 45% (up 1ppt) expect ‘bad times’. Meanwhile, just 19% (up 3ppts) of Australians say now is a ‘good time to buy’ major household items, while 45% (unchanged) say now is a ‘bad time to buy’.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ

Roy Morgan Business Confidence hits a new record low of only 76.1 in May after Reserve Bank raises interest rates

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 11-Jun-26

In May 2026 Roy Morgan Business Confidence hit a new record low of 76.1 and has now fallen by 28.9pts so far during 2026. This result is 0.4pts below the previous record low reached a month ago, and 0.8 points below the pandemic low of 76.9 in April 2020. Business Confidence is also down 23.5 points from a year ago. Now 25.2% (up 1.2ppts) of respondents say their business is ‘better off’ financially than a year ago, while 44.9% (up 0.9ppts), say the business is ‘worse off’ (the highest figure for this indicator since December 2023). Just 29% (down 3.6ppts) of respondents expect the business will be ‘better off’ financially this time next year (the lowest figure for this indicator since August 2015), while 34.1% (up 4.5ppts) expect the business will be ‘worse off’ (a record high figure for this indicator). Meanwhile, just 28.8% (up 0.5ppts) of respondents say the next 12 months will be a ‘good time to invest’ in growing the business, while 50% (unchanged) say the next 12 months will be a ‘bad time to invest’. The latest Roy Morgan Business Confidence results for May are based on 1,181 detailed interviews with a cross-section of Australian businesses from each State and Territory.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence increased 2.7 points to 68.8 in late May – highest rating since early March

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 3-Jun-26

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence rose 2.7 points to 68.8 in the week to 31 May; this is the highest result since early March. However, Consumer Confidence is 17.6pts lower than a year ago (86.4), but just 2.4pts below the 2026 weekly average of 71.2. Analysis by State shows that Consumer Confidence increased in Victoria, Western Australia and South Australia, but was unchanged in both New South Wales and Queensland. Now just 14% of Australians (up 1ppt) say their families are ‘better off’ financially than this time last year, while 54% (down 2ppts) say their families are ‘worse off’. Looking forward, 18% (down 2ppts) of respondents expect their family to be ‘better off’ financially this time next year, while 43% (down 4ppts) expect to be ‘worse off’. Only 6% (up 1ppt) of respondents expect ‘good times’ for the Australian economy over the next 12 months, while 44% (down 3ppts) expect ‘bad times’. Meanwhile, just 16% (up 1ppt) of Australians say now is a ‘good time to buy’ major household items, while 45% (down 3ppts) say now is a ‘bad time to buy’.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ

Data centre boom drives first trade deficit since 2017

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Original article by Lea Jurkovic
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 3-Jun-26

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that the nation recorded a trade deficit of $2.4bn in the March 2026 quarter, compared with a trade surplus of $1bn in the December 2025 quarter. The Commonwealth Bank’s head economist Belinda Allen says easing commodity prices and higher imports have dragged down the trade balance in recent years. The ABS notes that iron ore prices fell significantly in the March quarter, while both iron ore and coal export volumes fell. Australia’s exports fell by 1.1 per cent overall, while rising demand for data centre equipment saw imports rise by 0.8 per cent. The trade figures are expected to reduce Australia’s economic growth by 0.8 per cent, with GDP data for the March quarter to be released today.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA

Overall Australian unemployment and under-employment at almost 3.3 million in April; Real Unemployment at 1.63 million

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 13-May-26

In April 2026, Australian ‘real’ unemployment fell 58,000 to 1,635,000 (10.1% of the workforce, down 0.4%), and under-employment dropped 48,000 to 1,639,000 (down 0.2% to 10.2%). In total, 3.27 million Australians (20.3% of the workforce) were either unemployed or under-employed in April. Roy Morgan estimates the overall workforce size (which adds together the employed and unemployed) at just under 16.1 million in April (16,091,000 to be exact, down 94,000 on a month ago, and representing 68.8% of Australians aged 14+). Employment was down 36,000 to 14,456,000; this was driven by a sharp fall in full-time employment (down 225,000 to 9,145,000), although part-time employment rose 189,000 to a record high of 5,311,000. Overall employment represents 61.8% of Australians aged 14+. The April Roy Morgan Unemployment estimates were obtained by surveying an Australia-wide cross section of people aged 14+.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence dropped 3.1pts to 64.1 after the Reserve Bank raised interest rates by +0.25%

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 13-May-26

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence fell 3.1pts to 64.1 in the week to 10 May; this is the fourth-lowest Consumer Confidence reading in the history of the index stretching back to 1972. Consumer Confidence is now 20.3pts lower than a year ago (87.5), and 5.1pts below the 2026 weekly average of 72.3. Analysis by State shows that Consumer Confidence dropped in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and South Australia, but increased slightly in Western Australia. Now just 14% of Australians (down 2ppt) say their families are ‘better off’ financially than this time last year, while 56% (up 2ppts) say their families are ‘worse off’. Looking forward, 19% (down 1ppt) of respondents expect their family to be ‘better off’ financially this time next year, while 45% (up 2ppts) expect to be ‘worse off’. Only 4% (down 1ppt) of respondents expect ‘good times’ for the Australian economy over the next 12 months, while 48% (unchanged) expect ‘bad times’. Meanwhile, just 13% (down 2ppts) of Australians say now is a ‘good time to buy’ major household items, while 53% (up 2ppts) say now is a ‘bad time to buy’.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence was down 0.6pts to 67.2 in early May before the Reserve Bank meeting

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 6-May-26

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence fell 0.6pts to 67.2 in the week to 3 May, which is the the seventh-lowest Consumer Confidence reading of all time. Consumer Confidence is now 20.3pts lower than a year ago (87.5), and 5.1pts below the 2026 weekly average of 72.3. Analysis by State shows that Consumer Confidence improved in New South Wales and South Australia, but declined in Victoria, Queensland and Western Australia. Now just 16% of Australians (down 1ppt) say their families are ‘better off’ financially than this time last year, while 54% (unchanged) say their families are ‘worse off’. Looking forward, 20% (unchanged) of respondents expect their family to be ‘better off’ financially this time next year, while 43% (down 1ppt) expect to be ‘worse off’. Only 5% (up 1ppt) of respondents expect ‘good times’ for the Australian economy over the next 12 months, while 48% (unchanged) expect ‘bad times’. Meanwhile, 15% (down 2ppts) of Australians say now is a ‘good time to buy’ major household items, while 51% (unchanged) say now is a ‘bad time to buy’.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ

Diesel ute sales fall off a cliff as fuel prices bite

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Original article by Ryan Cropp
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 6-May-26

Data from the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries and the Electric Vehicle Council show that China’s BYD was the second-highest selling brand in Australia during April. The figures show that fully electric vehicles accounted for one in six new car sales for the month, with large diesel utes and four-wheel drives bearing the brunt of rising fuel prices. Sales of the Toyota HiLux fell by 31 per cent year-on-year, while Ford Everest sales were down more than 29 per cent. Sales of petrol cars overall fell by 30 per cent in April, while diesel vehicle sales were 21 per cent lower. In contrast, sales of BYD’s Sealion 7 electric car rose by more than 139 per cent year-on-year.

CORPORATES
FEDERAL CHAMBER OF AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRIES, ELECTRIC VEHICLE COUNCIL, TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION AUSTRALIA LIMITED, FORD MOTOR COMPANY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, BYD COMPANY LIMITED

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence increased 3.5pts to 67.8 in late April – highest for over a month

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 29-Apr-26

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence rose 3.5pts to 67.8 in the week to 26 April, although this is still the seventh-lowest Consumer Confidence reading of all time. Consumer Confidence is now 15.6pts lower than a year ago (83.4), and 4.8pts below the 2026 weekly average of 72.6. Analysis by State shows that Consumer Confidence improved significantly in Victoria and South Australia, was up slightly in New South Wales and Queensland, but down in Western Australia.. Now 17% of Australians (up 2ppts) say their families are ‘better off’ financially than this time last year, while 54% (down 3ppts) say their families are ‘worse off’. Looking forward, 20% (down 1ppt) of respondents expect their family to be ‘better off’ financially this time next year, while 44% (down 1ppts) expect to be ‘worse off’. Only 4% (unchanged) of respondents expect ‘good times’ for the Australian economy over the next 12 months, while 48% (down 5ppts) expect ‘bad times’. Meanwhile, 17% (up 2ppts) of Australians say now is a ‘good time to buy’ major household items, while 51% (unchanged) say now is a ‘bad time to buy’.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ

ANZ-Roy Morgan Inflation Expectations were at 6.6% in late April – up 0.3% points from the month of March

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 29-Apr-26

The weekly ANZ-Roy Morgan Inflation Expectations increased in the month of March 2026 and have continued to increase in April as the US and Israel war on Iran has continued, and are now at 6.6% for the week of 20-26 April (up 0.3% points from the month of March). Inflation Expectations have averaged 6.1% over the first 16 weeks of 2026. However, a look at monthly Inflation Expectations for March shows the measure at 6.3% for the month (up 1% point from the prior month of February, and 0.2% points above the current average for 2026). Looking back over the last six months, since mid-October 2025, weekly Inflation Expectations have averaged 5.8% over this extended period. The data for the Inflation Expectations series is drawn from the Roy Morgan Single Source, which has interviewed an average of around 5,300 Australians aged 14+ per month over the last decade, and includes interviews with 4,115 Australians aged 14+ in March 2026.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ