Consumer confidence has increased for the third consecutive week, however it remains at historically low levels.

According to ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence data, released this morning, confidence increased by 1.1 percentage points to 79.3 over the past week, no doubt due to the pause in interest rate rises.

However, the index is only up 2.8 points from its mid-March nadir of 76.5 – the lowest confidence levels since seen the start of the pandemic.

The Reserve Bank of Australia building is seen in Sydney, Tuesday, October 1, 2019. The Reserve Bank has cut the official interest rate to a new record low of 0.75 per cent in a bid to drive up wage growth and reduce unemployment. (AAP Image/Dan Himbrechts) NO ARCHIVING

It is also the sixth week in a row the index has been below the mark of 80 – the longest stretch below 80 since the index began being conducted on a weekly basis in October 2008, according to ANZ.

It’s also the only time confidence remained under 800 for at least six weeks since the 1990 recession.

“Unsurprisingly, this was the most positive result following an RBA meeting since before rate hikes began in May last year, with the gain led by those paying off their mortgage,” ANZ senior economist Catherine Birch said.