Decrease in household consumption of goods

Published:

Household consumption of goods fell 0.6 per cent February to March 2017, according to seasonally adjusted figures. Purchases of vehicles accounted for most of the decrease.

Figure 1. Index of household consumption of goods, seasonally adjusted and unadjusted. 2005=100

Seasonally adjusted Unadjusted
Jan. 2010 120.89 111.89
Feb. 2010 118.39 104.25
Mar. 2010 117.36 120.36
Apr. 2010 115.03 104.97
May 2010 115.56 112.51
June 2010 116.13 121.06
July 2010 116.7 119.68
Aug. 2010 117.07 115.96
Sept. 2010 116.6 113.52
Oct. 2010 119.33 117.24
Nov. 2010 121.46 123.47
Dec. 2010 119.29 148.32
Jan. 2011 117.71 109.65
Feb. 2011 119.14 105.03
Mar. 2011 117.39 114.28
Apr. 2011 119.34 114.28
May 2011 118.67 119.56
June 2011 118.44 121.34
July 2011 117.61 117.55
Aug. 2011 119.87 121.85
Sept. 2011 119.68 116.63
Oct. 2011 120.83 118.72
Nov. 2011 121.4 123.4
Dec. 2011 120.35 148.32
Jan. 2012 120.27 114.2
Feb. 2012 121.03 109.96
Mar. 2012 120.18 120.12
Apr. 2012 123.42 112.38
May 2012 123.76 123.7
June 2012 121.61 127.5
July 2012 123.92 121.88
Aug. 2012 122.79 125.67
Sept. 2012 125.27 118.2
Oct. 2012 124.3 124.24
Nov. 2012 124.04 126.95
Dec. 2012 124.41 149.47
Jan. 2013 126.47 119.95
Feb. 2013 126.53 110.57
Mar. 2013 125.9 120.21
Apr. 2013 124.39 119.33
May 2013 126.06 125.45
June 2013 125.53 128.02
July 2013 123.85 124.78
Aug. 2013 124.52 126.45
Sept. 2013 125.7 117.21
Oct. 2013 124.96 124.39
Nov. 2013 124.38 126.63
Dec. 2013 124.53 150.43
Jan. 2014 125.36 118.91
Feb. 2014 125.3 109.36
Mar. 2014 126.22 120.47
Apr. 2014 125.88 119.63
May 2014 125.41 127.04
June 2014 126.98 128.56
July 2014 125.16 126.26
Aug. 2014 126.76 125.61
Sept. 2014 126.16 120.55
Oct. 2014 126.37 126.16
Nov. 2014 126.77 125.46
Dec. 2014 128.09 158.44
Jan. 2015 126.08 118.84
Feb. 2015 126.44 110.77
Mar. 2015 127.41 128.13
Apr. 2015 129.48 117.57
May 2015 126.18 124.89
June 2015 128.32 135.39
July 2015 128.35 129.48
Aug. 2015 128.26 125.73
Sept. 2015 126.52 120.67
Oct. 2015 127.47 126.51
Nov. 2015 128.01 126.89
Dec. 2015 126.71 156.14
Jan. 2016 128.63 117.98
Feb. 2016 126.99 115.4
Mar. 2016 126.73 121.9
Apr. 2016 126.45 123.58
May 2016 127.64 126.3
June 2016 127.07 134.48
July 2016 126.17 122.95
Aug. 2016 126.78 128.26
Sept. 2016 126.29 121.01
Oct. 2016 127.03 121.89
Nov. 2016 128.4 131.64
Dec. 2016 125.94 154.57
Jan. 2017 126.76 118.94
Feb. 2017 127.94 112.72
Mar. 2017 127.14 126.72

Purchases vehicles and petrol fell 3.1 per cent from February to March and pulled down household consumption of goods 0.6 percentage points. Consumption of electricity and heating fuels also contributed to the decline.

Consumption of food and beverages was up 0.1 per cent, whereas consumption of other goods showed no growth.

Without adjusting for calendar effects and seasonality, household consumption of goods was 4 per cent higher in March 2017 than in the same month the year before.

In March 2017 household consumption of goods consisted of 35 per cent food and beverages, 10 per cent electricity and heating fuels, 18 per cent purchases of vehicles and petrol, and 37 per cent other goods.

Easter in 2016 fell in March, whereas this year it was in April. This may create greater uncertainty than usual related to seasonally adjusted figures.