Key Points

• Consumer spending, according to NAB’s transaction data, went up 0.5% in both retail and total spending after being broadly flat last month.
• Growth of 0.9% in discretionary spending led the increase while spending in non-discretionary categories declined 0.2%.
• Overall, consumer spending increased 1.2% in the past 3 months and 4.3% over the past 12 months.
• Business credits grew 0.7 m/m. Overall, business credits increased by 7.1 % over the past 12 months, or 9% excluding
  mining and agriculture.

Monthly Consumer Spending

• Total spending rose 0.5% in August. Overall, total consumer spending increased 1.2% over the past 3 months and 4.3% over the past 12 months.
• Retail spending also went up 0.5%, with increases in both goods retail (0.5%) and cafes & restaurants (0.8%). For detail on retail spending, see page 3.
• Spending on vehicles & fuel and other spending increased 0.4% and 1% respectively while spending on essential services declined 0.5% (see page 4).
• Total spending on both goods and services went up 0.5%. Discretionary spending increased 0.9% m/m offset by a decline in non-discretionary spending (-0.2%).

For all of the details, read the full report NAB Economic Data Insights August 2024