April's index figure was 118.8 following a sharp rise of 11% over the previous three months, up significantly from its low of 75.6 in April last year. 

Westpac chief economist Bill Evans put May's pull-back down to "disappointment" in the Federal Budget released last week. 

"No doubt the Budget achieved a positive political objective with a 1% dip in confidence amongst Coalition voters contrasting to an 8.1% fall in confidence amongst ALP supporters," he said.

Need somewhere to store cash and earn interest? The table below features savings accounts with some of the highest interest rates on the market.

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Filters
BankSavings AccountBase Interest Rate Max Interest Rate Total Interest Earned Introductory Term Minimum Amount Maximum Amount Minimum Monthly Deposit Minimum Opening Deposit ATM Access Joint Application TagsFeaturesLinkComparePromoted ProductDisclosure
5.00% p.a.
5.35% p.a.
Intro rate for 4 months
then 5.00% p.a.
$1,036
4 months
$0
$249,999
$0
$0
  • A high-interest online savings account with no monthly fees, easy withdrawals and award-winning digital banking
  • No withdrawal notice periods or interest rate penalties
  • Save up to 10% on eGift cards at over 50 retailers with Macquarie Marketplace
 Disclosure
4.70% p.a.
5.40% p.a.
Intro rate for 4 months
then 4.70% p.a.
$998
4 months
$250,000
$99,999,999
$0
$0
  • Special offer: Savings Accelerator (Kick Starter offer).
  • For a limited time, new ING customers can get a bonus 0.70% p.a. on their savings rate on balances of $150,000 up to $500,000 for the first 4 months. T&Cs apply.
  • If your balance is over $500,000 (but less than $5 million) you will earn the ongoing variable rate of 4.7%
 Disclosure
0.00% p.a.
Bonus rate of 5.50%
Rate varies on savings amount.
5.50% p.a.
$1,128
–
$0
$99,999
$0
$0
  • Set up your Pay Cycle and connect your accounts from over 140 financial institutions.
  • Retrace your spending steps into categories with Spending Footprint.
  • No monthly or international fees on any of your transactions.
 Disclosure
1.00% p.a.
Bonus rate of 4.20%
Rate varies on savings amount.
5.20% p.a.
$1,065
–
$0
$99,999,999
$1,000
$0
  • Earn up to 5.20% pa by depositing $1,000 in the previous month
  • No account fees
  • Easy access to your money
0.55% p.a.
Bonus rate of 4.95%
Rate varies on savings amount.
5.50% p.a.
$1,128
–
$0
$99,999
$1,000
$0
  • Deposit at least $1,000+ each month from an external source
  • Make 5 or more eligible transactions. Grow your savings balance each month
 Disclosure
  • Set up your Pay Cycle and connect your accounts from over 140 financial institutions.
  • Retrace your spending steps into categories with Spending Footprint.
  • No monthly or international fees on any of your transactions.

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Important Information and Comparison Rate Warning

All products with a link to a product provider’s website have a commercial marketing relationship between us and these providers. These products may appear prominently and first within the search tables regardless of their attributes and may include products marked as promoted, featured or sponsored. The link to a product provider’s website will allow you to get more information or apply for the product. By de-selecting “Show online partners only” additional non-commercialised products may be displayed and re-sorted at the top of the table. For more information on how we’ve selected these “Sponsored”, “Featured” and “Promoted” products, the products we compare, how we make money, and other important information about our service, please click here. Rates correct as of . View disclaimer.

Important Information and Comparison Rate Warning

Mr Evans also said there were few "surprises" in the Budget, which "was still unable to exceed the exuberant expectations of the community". 

This could be due to many major Budget items being leaked to the press in the days prior to the Budget being officially announced.

The consumer confidence index's pull-back is at odds with results seen in ANZ-Roy Morgan's weekly index released yesterday, which showed a 'post Budget bounce' instead.

All of the Westpac-Melbourne Institute index categories experienced a slight pull-back on April's results, including 'Family finances next 12 months', down 6.9%.

However, a fall is a positive in the 'unemployment expectations' index, which is at a ten-year low, meaning more people expect employment conditions to improve in the year ahead.

Mr Evans said this "suggests lingering concerns around the end of JobKeeper have eased". 

'House price expectations' fell 0.1% to 163.8 in May, which is still 124.6% up on a year ago.

However, this was balanced out by the 'time to buy a dwelling' index, falling 3.4% in May - 21.6% below its peak in November 2020.

Victorians led the fall in 'time to buy a dwelling', down 20% in May, which could be due to 'fragile' property market fundamentals in Melbourne.

More to come...

Photo by Nghia Le on Unsplash



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