Australian Household Spending Flat in August as Consumers Fret

By James Glynn

SYDNEY--Spending by Australian households was flat in August from July amid signs that cost of living pressures and falling confidence levels are taking a toll on consumers.

The household spending indicator was unchanged in August, after rising solidly in both July and June, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said Tuesday.

Household spending was 6.8% higher than the same time last year, it added.

The weak outcome for August comes amid speculation that the Reserve Bank of Australia could raise interest rates a further two times before the end of the year.

The unresolved war in the Middle East also continues to drive fuel prices higher, with little hope the conflict will end soon.

Recreation and culture spending saw the largest fall in August, dropping 1.4% after months of higher spending associated with major sporting events, the data showed.

Sales of clothing, footwear, recreational goods, food, healthcare and furniture also fell.

However, the falls were offset by higher transport spending, which climbed 2.3% from a month earlier, the ABS said.

Both fuel spending and new-vehicle sales contributed to the rise in transport spending, especially electric-vehicle sales as households respond to rising fuel prices, it added.

Excluding the rise in fuel spending, total household spending would have fallen by 0.3% from a month earlier, the ABS said.

Write to James Glynn at james.glynn@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 28, 2026 22:16 ET (02:16 GMT)