- Philip Lowe, RBA Deputy Governor
Recent turbulence in financial markets as well as worries about the Chinese economy hit Australian consumer confidence hard. The survey of 1,200 people by the Melbourne Institute in collaboration with Westpac Bank revealed its index of consumer sentiment fell a seasonally adjusted 5.6% in September, from August when it jumped more than expected by 7.8%. The index came in at 93.9 in the reported month compared with 99.5 points in August. Any reading below 100 shows pessimists outnumber optimists. This has been the case since May this year. Of the past 19 months, 17 have come in below 100 points. Westpac's poor numbers echo a sharp decrease in the latest weekly ANZ-Roy Morgan consumer confidence index, which showed a fall of 5.8% to the lowest level since July 2014, when the sentiment was clouded due to the Coalition government's first budget. The data also follows National Australia Bank's business confidence survey, which slid to the lowest level in more than two years.
Meanwhile, RBA Deputy Governor Philip Lowe reiterated the weaker Aussie Dollar and lower interest rates are helping Australia's transition out of the mining boom. The exchange rate adjustment has led to improved conditions in a number of sectors, highlighting tourism as one of the key beneficiaries.
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