The consumer confidence number from Westpac does not tend to move the AUD much upon release
WPAC have previewed the data, its worth a read as a bit of background
But, feel free to ignore, like I said not gonna have much of an AUD impact today (famous last words). Due at 0030GMT (bottom of the hour):
The Westpac Melbourne Institute Index of Consumer Sentiment declined 2.3% to 103.6 in August from 106.1 in July.
- The move gave back about half of the solid gains seen in June and July which look to have been partly a positive response to the tax cuts announced in the May Budget. The August reading was still positive overall, 5.5% above the average in 2014 to 2017 and the ninth successive month that above the 100 level, indicating optimists outnumber pessimists.
The Sep update may end that run.
- The survey is in the field from Sep 3-8 and is likely to be influenced by: the leadership change that saw a new PM announced in late August; and mortgage rate increases, with three of the four major banks lifting standard variable mortgage rates by 14-16bps.
- Continued slippage in house prices and financial markets - the ASX down 1.9% and the AUD down 1.6c vs the USD since the last survey - may also weigh on sentiment.
