Westpac: Card Activity Confirms Solid Start To Sales Season

Westpac note that their “Card Tracker Index lifted strongly over the two weeks to Dec 3, jumping 10pts to 146.8. Some of this is almost certainly a transitory lift associated with Black Friday and ‘Cyber- week’ sales. While the Index is adjusted for regular seasonal variations the limited history means its not yet possible to do this with complete precision for week-to-week reads. The extent of any underlying strengthening will depend on how much the index retraces over the rest of Dec. That said, the profile is tracking closely in line with previous Nov-Dec sales periods meaning the question is whether momentum may be lifting over and above regular seasonal variations rather than whether its dropping off.”