With the economy speeding up and interest rates coming down, consumer confidence is expected to reach new heights when Westpac and the Melbourne Institute unveil their March consumer confidence index on Tuesday.
The Reserve Bank of Australia cut interest rates for the first time in more than four years in February, which is expected to boost sentiment for households finally experiencing their real incomes growing again.
Consumer confidence has been rising since mid-2024 as inflation eased and families grew more optimistic about their financial prospects.
Businesses will also benefit from lower borrowing costs as the cash rate falls, with an uptick in sentiment also expected in NAB's February Business Survey, also released on Tuesday.
Confidence rose by six points in January, despite a reported fall in profits and sales.
"While recent consumption data for late Q4 shows some rebound in household spending, this will likely need to be maintained before conditions recover more broadly," NAB chief economist Alan Oster said as the last survey was released in February.
Commonwealth Bank's household spending insights report on Tuesday will reveal if consumers did keep that rebound going through February.
In its February Statement on Monetary Policy, the RBA forecast annual household consumption growth to accelerate to 1.8 per cent in June, from 0.7 per cent in December, as real household disposable incomes rise further.
RBA assistant governor Brad Jones will speak at an International Institute of Finance Australia forum on Thursday, although the panel discussion also including ASIC chair Joe Longo is more likely to focus on Australia's financial system rather than monetary policy.
US stocks finished higher on Friday, rebounding from early declines after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the economy was "in a good place," but uncertainty about US trade policy led to Wall Street's biggest weekly decline in months.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 222.64 points, or 0.52 per cent, to 42,801.72, the S&P 500 gained 31.68 points, or 0.55 per cent, to 5,770.20 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 126.97 points, or 0.70 per cent, to 18,196.22.
For the week, the S&P 500 ended down 3.1 per cent, the Nasdaq declined 3.45 per cent, and the Dow fell 2.37 per cent.
Australian futures rose 69 points, or 0.86 per cent, to 8011.0.
The Australian share market tanked to its lowest close in more than six months, just three weeks after hitting an all-time high.
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index fell 146.5 points on Friday, or 1.81 per cent, to 7948.2, while the broader All Ordinaries dropped 147.9 points, or 1.78 per cent, to 8178.5.
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