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Australian consumer confidence rises slightly: survey

Xinhua, January 20, 2015 Adjust font size:

A fall in fuel prices is lifting consumer confidence in Australia but not as much as expected, according to a new survey released on Tuesday.

The ANZ/Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence index rose 1.4 percent to 113.6 in the week ending Jan. 18, following a cumulative rise of 1.6 percent over the previous two surveys.

However, the lower petrol prices have not delivered the major confidence boost that experts had expected.

ANZ chief economist Warren Hogan said it was still undecided if households will spend or save the boost to real household income from lower petrol prices.

"While there may be a longer lag before lower petrol prices start to boost Australian consumer confidence, thus far the response from both confidence and retail anecdotes suggest that households remain cautious," Hogan said in a statement. Endi