Consumer confidence falls amid rate hike fears: ANZ-Roy Morgan

The news: Consumer confidence fell 1.2 points to 74.7 last week, bringing the four-week moving average to 73.5 points. Weekly inflation expectations eased to 5.4%, though short-term economic confidence declined by 3.9 points.

The context: ANZ economist Sophia Angala said, despite the broader weakness in the economic outlook, the “time to buy household items” sub-index improved significantly last week, supported by end of financial year sales.

She added that the decline in overall confidence coincided with the release of the Reserve Bank’s June Monetary Policy Board meeting minutes, which reinforced the board’s hawkish stance and emphasised the risk of a further interest rate hike.

ANZ now expects annual household consumption growth to slow from 2.5% in 2025 to 1.1% in 2026.