Australians splashed out on Black Friday sales, concerts and sporting events, putting household spending on track to exceed central bank forecasts.
Household spending rose one per cent in November, the Australian Bureau of Statistics revealed on Monday.
That is 6.3 per cent higher than the same time a year prior and the highest annual growth rate since September 2023.
The figures point to continued strength in the nation's economic recovery and more evidence for the Reserve Bank of Australia the economy does not need further monetary stimulus.
Seasonal shifts in the timing of end-of-year sales clouded the reliability of the figures and could set up some "payback" in December, NAB senior associate economist Jessie Cameron said.
"But ongoing momentum in consumer demand should leave the RBA uncomfortable that cyclical conditions will put sufficient downward pressure on inflation over the forecast horizon," she said.
Marc Jocum, senior investment strategist at ETF provider Global X, said consumers were proving more resilient than expected.
"That resilience helps underpin near-term demand, but it also complicates the inflation outlook, particularly when spending momentum is strong enough to surprise to the upside,'' he said.
The result was higher than expectations, with the forecaster consensus predicting growth of 0.6 per cent.
Before of the release, NAB's economics team said in a research note a key focus would be whether October's broad-based lift in spending was sustained.
Spending growth was broad-based in November with eight of the nine spending categories rising, the bureau's head of business statistics Tom Lay said.
"Services spending rose by 1.2 per cent, driven by major events, including concerts and sporting fixtures. These events are linked to higher spending on catering, transport, and recreation and cultural activities," he said.
"Growth in goods spending, which lifted 0.9 per cent, was driven by Black Friday sales. Clothing, footwear, furnishings, and electronics seeing the biggest gains as consumers took advantage of widespread discounts."
Britpop giants Oasis played sold-out stadium shows in Melbourne and Sydney during the month and record crowds turned out to the opening Ashes Test in Perth, although attendances would have been higher had it run for more than two days.
The biggest rise was in furnishings and household equipment, up 2.2 per cent, while spending on clothing and footwear was two per cent higher and recreation and culture jumped 1.7 per cent.
Every state and territory recorded growth of at least 0.5 per cent, with Tasmania experiencing the biggest lift of 2.1 per cent.
Discretionary spending rose 1.2 per cent for the month, outpacing spending on essentials which climbed 0.7 per cent.
The outlook for spending remained strong for people who owned their homes outright, head of economic research and global trade for Oxford Economics Australia Harry Murphy Cruise said.
But mortgage holders and renters faced tighter budgets and weaker confidence.
"That will see steady, but unspectacular, aggregate spending growth through this year," he said.
