Australian household spending saw a solid increase in December, rising to the highest annual increase since March 2024:

• Overall household spending up 0.4% MoM and 4.3% YoY with goods spending up 0.4% MoM and 4.4% YoY (highest since March 2024) and services spending up 0.3% MoM and 4.2% YoY
• Discretionary spending grew 0.6% MoM 4.6% YoY in December, up from 2.8% YoY in November. Non-discretionary spending growth was -0.2% MoM and 3.7% YoY, slightly slower than 3.8% YoY previously.
• Inflation may have had a large part to play in the increases in spending. In Q4 2024, real household spending was only up 1.4% YoY (though this is up from 0.2% YoY in Q3 2024).