Australian consumer confidence continues to fall: survey

Consumer confidence in Australia has continued to fall despite cheaper petrol prices and the chance of another interest rate cut, according to a new survey released on Tuesday.

The weekly ANZ-Roy Morgan consumer confidence index fell by 0.7 percent to 112.4 in the week ending Feb. 1 following a fall of 0.4 percent the previous week.

"The response of confidence to rate cuts is now the weakest of the last five easing cycles with concerns around the federal budget, the economic outlook and job security weighing on sentiment in 2014," ANZ chief economist Warren Hogan said in a statement.

"However, the initial response of confidence to rate cuts was closer to normal, with the added cash flow from lower rates and higher house prices providing a moderate boost to sentiment. This suggests that further rate cuts could provide some boost to confidence in coming months."

Economists last week said Australian households had received a 7 billion Australian dollar (5.45 billion U.S. dollar) benefit from cheaper petrol, equating to a 15 Australian dollar (11.7 U.S. dollar) benefit per family.

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) will decide on interest rate cuts later on Tuesday and Hogan said the central bank needed to ensure the local economy is boosted in the coming years.

"The RBA can do that by emphasizing that lower petrol prices provide both extra cash flow to consumers and businesses, as well as a lower inflation trajectory which gives the scope to lower interest rates," he said.

"As such, this extra push to the economy should see growth accelerate back to trend in 2016 and 2017." Endi