Budget blues weaken consumer confidence in Australia

This week in Australia, the ANZ-Roy Morgan consumer confidence index fell a further 3.2 per cent to 100.4.

Confidence began weakening four weeks ago when some significant policies were leaked ahead of the 2014-15 Commonwealth budget release and is down a sharp 14 per cent since then.

This index will be important to watch in the coming weeks for whether this weakness is sustained or bounces back.

The media remains dominated by articles about the Budget, and with opposition parties discussing blocking many measures, the risk is that any rebound may be delayed. This in turn will likely mean Australian data over both April and May will be weaker than expected.