"The consumer expected inflation rate has risen in two consecutive months for the first time since April 2012, by 0.4 percentage points in total"
- Viet Nguyen, a Research Fellow at the Melbourne Institute
Inflation expectations among Australian consumers rose for the second straight month in February, indicating high economic confidence, the Melbourne Institute Survey of Consumer Inflationary Expectations said Thursday. A gauge, which measures the percentage change that consumers expect on the price of goods and services during the next 12 months, showed that consumers expect inflation rate to hike to 2.2% in February, up from 2% in January. Higher expectation for the inflation reflects greater confidence in the economy; despite the fact the retail sales declined for a third month in December and unemployment rate remained the same at 5.4%.
"The consumer expected inflation rate has risen in two consecutive months for the first time since April 2012, by 0.4 percentage points in total," Viet Nguyen, a Research Fellow at the Melbourne Institute, said in a statement.
"I don't think that consumers have suddenly woken up in December and suddenly felt completely confident again," said Woolworths Ltd. Chief Executive Officer Grant O'Brien in a media call Jan. 30. "There still is a lack of confidence in consumers and I think that will continue to be the case for some time."
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