The Reserve Bank of Australia’s brains trust will be none the wiser on the economic outlook following the latest National Accounts. It confirms what they have been telling us, an agonisingly gradual recovery in the private sector economy underpinned by a cautious consumer.

Despite a genuine boost to real disposable incomes, Australian consumers are unwilling to loosen the purse strings in a meaningful way. Discretionary spending showed signs of a genuine recovery in the final three months of 2024, but this has petered out in early 2025.