Consumer confidence up ahead of budget

Talk of tax cuts and spending in the federal budget were the likely reason for a boost in consumer confidence last week, ANZ analyst David Plank says.

Speculation about tax cuts in the federal budget may have boosted consumer confidence. (AAP)

Consumer confidence rose last week as Australians awaited the details of Tuesday's federal budget, ANZ analysts say.

The ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence index bounced by 2.6 per cent from the previous week, with the "time to buy a household item" metric jumping five per cent.

"Consumers head into the budget with confidence above average and at the highest level for some weeks," ANZ head of Australian economics David Plank said, adding that talk of additional tax cuts and spending was likely supporting sentiment.