Aussies tighten their belts

CANBERRA - Australian consumers have reined in their spending in the absence of new cash handouts from the Government, while demand from first-time homebuyers is also waning.

New government data released yesterday showed retail spending fell for a second consecutive month in July, with the Government's last "cash splash" in April and May seemingly spent and forgotten.

Consumers spent A$19.62 billion ($23.6 billion) in July, a seasonally adjusted 1 per cent fall compared with June, Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data shows.

Economists' median forecast was for a 0.5 per cent rise in retail sales.

The fall in spending came despite other data showing consumer confidence soaring to its highest level since July 2007, and by a record margin during the past four months.

The Westpac-Melbourne Institute consumer sentiment index surged by a further 5.2 per cent in September and has now increased 34.4 per cent during the past four months.

The retail data showed the biggest fall was in household goods retailing, which dipped by 3.6 per cent in July, followed by a 1.9 per cent decline in food retailing.

Still, spending in department stores rose 2.5 per cent, while there was a 1 per cent increase in spending at cafes and restaurants.

Demand for home loans eased in July, ending nine straight months of growth.

ABS housing finance data showed 63,259 home loans were granted to owner-occupiers in July, a 2.0 per cent decline on the previous month - double the fall expected by economists.

Demand from first homebuyers also diminished. Their 25.7 per cent share of total loans granted in July was down from a record peak of 28.5 per cent in May.

- AAP