Consumer confidence across Australia dropped to the lowest level since the country was in the throes of COVID-19 lockdowns.
The ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence fell 5.5 percentage points to 78.1, the lowest level seen since April 2020.
This follows the previous week’s 3.2 point drop, and comes after the RBA issued the ninth consecutive interest rate rise last Tuesday — while promising many more still to come.
This week’s fall is the biggest since the June 2022 Reserve Bank meeting, in which the first double-rate rise was issued.
“The average confidence among people paying off their mortgages fell sharper than other housing cohorts last week, by 10 percentage points to its lowest since early April 2020,” explained ANZ senior economist Adelaide Timbrell.
“Confidence among homeowners and renters also fell, by 5.2 points and 2.9 points respectively.
“The sub index for whether ‘it is a good time’ to buy a major household item dropped to its lowest since April 2020.”
