-- Australia's seasonally adjusted household spending rose 1.6% to AU$80.41 billion in March, following a 0.3% increase in the previous month, the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported on Tuesday.
"Household spending rose strongly in March, driven by a 5.1% rise in transport costs as fuel prices climbed in response to the conflict in the Middle East," said Tom Lay, the bureau's head of business statistics.
Seven of the nine spending categories rose in March, led by transport, food, and miscellaneous goods and services.
Goods spending rose 2.9% month on month in seasonally adjusted current price terms, driven by higher expenditure on motoring goods, food, and recreation and culture, while services spending increased by 0.1%, supported by gains in other services, rail and road transport, and recreational and cultural services.
Household spending rose in all eight states and territories in March, with the strongest increases recorded in Tasmania, Queensland, and New South Wales.
The seasonally adjusted household spending volumes indicator increased by 0.7% in the March quarter, reaching 226.54 billion compared with the previous quarter.
Household spending on discretionary goods and services rose 0.6% month on month, driven by higher spending on recreation and culture goods, other services, and clothing and footwear, while spending on non-discretionary goods and services increased by 3.4%, supported by greater expenditure on motoring goods, food, and rail and road transport.
Compared with the year-earlier period, household spending rose 6.3% in March.