Countries measure the mood of their consumers by surveying consumer attitudes regarding present economic conditions each month. Consumer spending usually makes up two-thirds of GDP in a developed economy, and therefore is important to monitor. Consumer confidence also affects stock and bond markets, and can give insight into consumers reactions to any economic shocks. The general method in scoring the confidence level is through household surveys conducted monthly. Some use preliminary estimates which surveys fewer households at the beginning of the month, and a final survey that encompasses a larger sample pool towards the end of the month.
Westpac Consumer Confidence for 1st Quarter.
Provided by: Melbourne Institute (subscription required)
Consumer confidence in the 1st quarter, as measured by the Melbourne Institute, slipped 13.5 points to its weakest level in over a decade. According to Westpac economist Donna Purdue, consumers are facing rising food and gas prices, higher mortgage interest rates, drought, falling house price inflation, and turmoil in global financial markets which caused the indicator to fall but a steep amount.
The NZD/USD pair has been recovering this week, climbing 150 pips from its low (0.7880) in Sunday trading, though the pairs gains have become increasing choppy at the NY open. The consumer confidence news had little effect as 10 AM EST.
