Consumers take heart as good numbers roll in

Consumer confidence is up, despite this week’s widely predicted rise in interest rates.

And the good economic news keeps rolling.

The Roy Morgan organisation reports that consumer confidence rose strongly in the final week of February.

It is now 34 points higher than it was in March last year, when Australians were very worried about the global economic crisis.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics is also reporting a sharp improvement in Australia’s trade.

Australia’s exports rose by 1 per cent in January, while imports for the month fell by 3 per cent.

That meant Australia’s trade deficit fell by almost $1 billion during the month.

Low export prices and strong imports slashed 1.2 per cent from Australia’s economic growth, in the final three months of last year.

However the nation still managed to chalk up 0.9 per cent growth in that time.

And, if sustained, January’s improvement should contribute to further economic growth in the early months of this year.

The Roy Morgan survey showed that 48 per cent of Australians now expect their families to be better off at this time next year.

That was the highest level, seen on this indicator, since October last year.

Only 14 per cent expected their families to be worse off.

The organisation’s chief, Gary Morgan, saw this week’s rate rise, too, as a positive sign.

He described it as :”…a firm sign that the RBA (Reserve Bank) believes the Australian economy is on a sustainable growth path…”