Households remain in good spirits, prepared to spend on leisure activities and unconcerned about paying down debt, the Westpac McDermott Miller consumer confidence September survey shows. Although expectations for the coming year had softened, households remained ''fairly upbeat'' about the economic outlook. Households remained in the mood to spend. Household debt levels had continue to rise in recent years. Relative to disposable incomes, debt levels were at record highs and much of the debt was leveraged against housing assets.

Source: Otago Daily Times September 19, 2017 17:13 UTC