Bernard Hickey picks out 10 charts from 2009 in a series of videos to play over the Summer break. In this video he looks at the close connection over a long period between consumer confidence and consumer spending. This chart moves forward confidence to show how it is a strong predictor of consumer spending. Consumer confidence has risen sharply in the second half of 2009, indicating a sharp rise in spending through early 2010, yet the Reserve Bank is sanguine about such an increase. Rodney Dickens argues here the Reserve Bank should be more wary of such a growth and that the close connection has not been broken by consumers changing their ways.
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