The Australian consumer remains one of the strongest in the world, according to two reports published, providing further fuel to the growing rate hike expectations going into the Reserve Bank of Australia's next meeting in early August.
An index of consumer sentiment rose 11.1% in July from June. The index rose to 113.1 points in July in seasonally adjusted terms from 101.9 points in June, compilers Westpac Banking Corp. and the Melbourne Institute said.
In addition, an index of job vacancies for skilled workers rose 0.3% in July from June and is up 23% from a year earlier, the Department of Employment said. The index currently stands at 46.4. In annual terms, the consumer sentiment index rose a seasonally adjusted 3.4% in July. In trend terms, the index fell 0.1% in July from June, contributing to a 0.1% annual decline.
As for vacancies for July, increases were recorded in seven of the 18 occupational groups measured by the index, with the strongest gains in the areas of social professionals, up 4.1% on month, followed by medical and science technical officers, up 3.3%, and construction and food trades, both up 2.9%. Skilled vacancies fell for 11 groups, including a 10% decline on month for printing trades and 7.9% for hairdressers.