Last week the ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence Index fell by 27.8% to hit a 30-year low.
The survey was conducted last weekend (21st-22nd March) – the government has brought in even harsher measures to combat the COVID-19 pandemic since then.
Australia’s consumer confidence is now some 17% below the lowest point seen during the GFC, in October 2008. At 72.2, the confidence rating is just above the index’s record lows of 1990.
All five categories in the survey fell significantly. ‘Time to buy a major household item’ marked the most steep decline, falling by 37.2%.
‘Current economic conditions’ was down 37.1%, followed by ‘future financial conditions (-25.8%), ‘current financial conditions’ (-23.9%) and ‘future economic conditions’ (-19.1%).
“The increasingly negative news about the impact of the coronavirus pandemic in Australia has had a dramatic impact on consumer sentiment, with confidence showing its biggest fall ever since the survey moved to a weekly basis in 2008,” David Plank, ANZ Head of Australian Economic, said. “Only the levels seen during the 1990-91 recession are comparable.”
