Australian consumer confidence rises toward yearend

SYDNEY, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- Australian consumer sentiment has risen toward the end of the year, providing a welcome sign for retailers during the crucial festive shopping season and amid a strong employment sector, according to a major economic index.

The latest Westpac Melbourne Institute Index of Consumer Sentiment, released on Wednesday, rose 3.6 percent to 103.3 in December, from 99.7 in November.

The index measures various aspects of consumer confidence and fiscal health including the job and housing sectors.

The rise in consumer confidence is a "welcome sight for retailers in the middle of the all-important Christmas shopping period," with recent increases in petrol prices and low wage growth failing to dampen confidence in family finances that partly reflected the "continued strength" of the employment sector, said Kate Hickie, an economist at research consultancy Capital Economics' Australia and New Zealand.

The unemployment index dropped from 130.8 to 127.6, which was the best result in the past six years and appeared consistent with the jobless rate dropping from 5.4 percent to closer to 5 percent, she said.

While confidence in the housing market also improved, with the proportion of respondents identifying property as the "wisest place to put their savings" increasing from a low of 10.5 percent in September to nearly 13 percent in December, households also showed they were "reluctant to take on more debt to compensate for weak income growth."

Household budgets remained tight and there was caution about consumption growth, "given the many headwinds still facing consumers," said Hickie. Enditem