Consumer confidence survey to signpost spending outlook

Analysts and policymakers will get a read on how consumers are feeling about the economy in an otherwise quiet week for hard data.

Australian households have been steadily gaining confidence in recent months, as reported in Westpac and the Melbourne Institute's monthly consumer sentiment index.

While not as pivotal to the Reserve Bank's thinking around monetary policy, it serves as a forward indicator for spending and economic growth, given household consumption accounts for about half Australia's gross domestic product.

Despite a 3.1 per cent drop in September, falling interest rates and rising disposable incomes have been boosting sentiment and confidence could bounce back when the latest update is released on Tuesday.

Responses around family finances are the best they've been since