The Melbourne Institute and Westpac Bank Consumer Sentiment Index for Australia declined 4.7 percent month-over-month to 99.6 in January 2019. It was the lowest reading since September 2017, amid a continued slide in house prices; ongoing concerns regarding global trade wars; and political uncertainty. The survey's measure of economic conditions for the next 12 months dropped by 7.8 percent to 96.2, and the measure for the next five years fell by 5.9 percent to 96.5. In addition, the index of family finances compared to a year ago decreased 5.9 percent to 84.6 and the outlook for the next 12 months went down by 3.1 percent to 102.2. Also, the index of whether it was a good time to buy a major household item declined 1.3 percent to 118.3. Consumer Confidence in Australia averaged 101.36 Index Points from 1974 until 2019, reaching an all time high of 123.94 Index Points in May of 2007 and a record low of 64.61 Index Points in November of 1990.
Consumer Confidence in Australia is expected to be 99.00 Index Points by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. Looking forward, we estimate Consumer Confidence in Australia to stand at 100.00 in 12 months time. In the long-term, the Australia Consumer Confidence is projected to trend around 104.00 Index Points in 2020, according to our econometric models.