According to the weekly Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence Rating, consumer confidence, rated this week, is 8.2 points higher than last year’s weekly rating for June 6 and 7.

This week’s rise has largely been driven by less Australians commenting that they are struggling financially than this time last year. Also, less Australians are assuming that they’ll be worse off this time next year.

In terms of figures, 29% of Australians (down 5%) said that their family is worse off financially than a year ago, while 29% (up 2%) said that their family is etter off financially.

The [Reserve Bank of Australia]’s (RBA) decision last Tuesday to halt its recent series of interest rate rises at six (the RBA has pushed interest rates from 3% at the start of October 2009 to 4.5% in May 2010) and also make clear it is not expecting to raise interest rates again in the near future have clearly lessened worries amongst Australians about the possibility of interest rates returning to the levels of two years ago — interest rates peaked at 7.25% between March – September 2008,” said Gary Morgan, executive chairman of Roy Morgan.