The tenth consecutive rate rise has sent consumer confidence plummeting to its lowest levels since the depth of the pandemic..

The ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence index fell a substantial 2.9 percentage points last week to 77.0.

This is below the four-week average of 79.3, and well below the monthly average since 1990 of 111.6. A consumer confidence level of 100 represented a neutral outlook.

“The sharpest decline in consumer confidence was in the current finances subindex, which dropped to its lowest since 2001,” explains ANZ Senior Economist Adelaide Timbrell.

“Confidence about future finances declined to its sixth-lowest since the COVID outbreak. Inflation expectations also increased post-hike, by 0.4pts.”

“Confidence among those paying off their mortgages increased 1.7pts after a sharp drop last week and are still the least confident of the housing cohorts,” Timbrell said.

“Those who own their home outright and renters reported sharp decreases of 4.1pts and 7.9pts respectively.”