Wellington, July 22 NZPA - Consumer confidence has fallen for the second consecutive month in the latest ANZ-Roy Morgan poll, but it is unclear if recent global market volatility is the reason.

The ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence measure fell six points in July. While off its recent peak of 131.4 in January, the overall level of household sentiment remains positive at 115.6 but it is the lowest reading in almost a year.

"The labour market may be improving, but there are plenty of other influences working in the opposite direction. It looks like households will remain cautious with their spending for a while," ANZ said.

The impact of recent global market volatility on consumer confidence is unclear. ANZ cited sluggishness in the housing market and price increases for electricity and petrol as other factors affecting sentiment.

"There are certainly positives out there, including an improving labour market, which official figures out in two weeks time will no doubt show. Longer term fixed mortgage rates have fallen, and those tax cuts are getting ever closer.

"But it seems the negatives are outweighing the positives in the consumers' minds at present," ANZ said.

An increase in the proportion of respondents thinking it is a good time to purchase a major household item last month was reversed this month.

"We wondered if last month's reading was influence by a 'beat the GST increase' dynamic," ANZ said. While the current reading at plus 22 is still consistent with a pick-up in retail spending in the months ahead, it is not pointing to a big spending surge that the retail sector had been hoping for.