Australian Consumer Confidence Firms Despite Market Falls

By James Glynn

SYDNEY--Australian consumer confidence rose last week despite growing concerns about the global economic outlook amid an escalating trade war.

Consumer confidence rose 1.5 points during the week to 86.8 points, according to a survey by ANZ Bank and pollster Roy Morgan.

ANZ Economist Sophia Angala said data for the survey was largely collected prior to the Trump Administration's announcement last week of widespread reciprocal tariffs on U.S. trading partners.

Since the White House unveiled its trade policy markets have tumbled globally, with those falls accelerated by the imposition of tariffs by other major economies, including China.

Weekly inflation expectations ticked down 0.1 percentage points to 4.6%, while the four-week moving average was unchanged at 4.8%, the data showed.

The time to buy a major household item subindex declined 2.5 points over the week.

The weekly ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian consumer confidence rating is based on 1,006 interviews conducted online and over the telephone during the week to Sunday.

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