Australian household spending rose 0.8 percent in June, and the statistics agency puts air travel back at the level it held before the Middle East conflict

The economic footprint of the March conflict is starting to come off Australian bank statements.

Fuel prices fell 10.9 percent in June, and households responded by buying 7.8 percent more of it by volume, on an experimental series the Australian Bureau of Statistics publishes alongside its monthly spending indicator. Air travel spending, which the agency says was the second largest contributor to a strong transport month, has returned to the level it held before the travel disruption that began in March. The agency names two causes for the fuel move: world oil prices fell, and the reduction in fuel excise duty that ran from 1 April continues to pass through.

That excise cut expired on 30 June.

The month itself

Household spending rose 0.8 percent in June on seasonally adjusted current price figures released on Tuesday morning in Canberra. May rose 1.2 percent. April fell 1.0 percent.

Discretionary spending rose 1.2 percent, its second consecutive increase. Transport was the largest mover of any category at 3.0 percent, and Tom Lay, the agency's head of business statistics, said new vehicle sales were the standout inside it. He also said electric vehicle sales have kept taking a growing share of new vehicle sales, which the agency attributes to households adjusting to higher fuel prices.

Recreation and culture rose 1.4 percent. The agency spreads the reason across electronic goods, live entertainment and gambling activity, and says the last of those was likely supported by major sporting events. It adds a caveat that is easy to skip and worth keeping: some of the rise in performing arts spending is people buying tickets for shows that have not happened, because the indicator records the payment rather than the performance.

What went down

Two of the nine published categories fell in June.

Clothing and footwear dropped 0.7 percent after a 2.4 percent rise in May. Miscellaneous goods and services fell 0.6 percent after rising 2.2 percent. Hotels, cafes and restaurants were effectively flat at minus 0.1 percent, having risen 1.8 percent the month before, and that is the one to watch, because it is the discretionary line that says most about how comfortable people feel.

Food rose 0.3 percent, alcohol and tobacco 1.0 percent, furnishings 0.6 percent, health 0.3 percent.

Volumes, which are the harder number

The agency publishes a separate quarterly measure that strips prices out.

That volumes indicator rose 0.7 percent in the June quarter, a third consecutive quarterly rise, and 2.4 percent against the same quarter of 2025. The annual rate in the March quarter was 2.7 percent, so the yearly pace has eased slightly even as the quarterly one held.

The indicator is built from de-identified card transactions, supermarket scanner data and motor vehicle sales records supplied by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries and the Electric Vehicle Council. It covers nine of the thirteen spending divisions in the international classification, and the ones it leaves out are worth naming, because they are large: housing and utilities, communications, and education services.