Lockdown hits spending

Credit and debit card data has given an early indicator of how last week’s lockdown influenced spending in Western Australia, down 3.3 per cent against the same week in 2020.

The numbers from the Commonwealth Bank track household spending data via card use in the seven days to February 5.

The previous week, ending on January 29, had delivered card spending about 17 per cent higher than the same period in 2020, Commsec said.

But Perth, Peel and the South West entered a severe lockdown on Sunday January 31, after a hotel quarantine guard tested positive.

The fall was the biggest drop in WA spending in a week since May 2020, the CBA said.

It was also the only state to post a fall in the week. 

That follows a strong recovery in retail trade since the first lockdown last year.

Although retail sales were 2 per cent lower in WA in December than November, they were still way up on December 2019, about 14 per cent higher.

Western Australians spent almost $3.4 billion during the final month of the year, seasonally adjusted, according to Australia Bureau of Statistics data.

Consumer confidence fell last week on the lockdown in WA and virus scare in Melbourne.

Data from ANZ-Roy Morgan showed a drop in the index from 112.1 to 111.4.

But Commsec reports the index is still up by 70.6 per cent since hitting record lows of 65.3 on March 29, 2020.