Consumer confidence worst in four decades

The news: Consumer confidence is at sustained lows not seen since the recession of the early 1990s, according to a new survey.

The numbers: The Westpac-Melbourne Institute Index of Consumer Sentiment slipped 1.5% to 79.7 in September, and has remained in 'deeply pessimistic territory' for more than a year. The only comparable period since the survey began in 1974 was when even lower levels held for more than two years in the 1990s. The survey found inflation was the topic with the highest recall among consumers.

The context: Spending growth in the June quarter was a weak 0.1%, and 0.3% in the two preceding quarters, giving the Reserve bank little cause to hike interest rates further, Westpac chief economist Bill Evans said.

What they said: “We continue to expect rates to remain on hold until the August Board meeting in 2024. By then we anticipate inflation to have fallen to 3.4%; the unemployment rate to have risen to 4.5% and annual growth in consumer spending to have slowed to just 0.8%," Evans said in a statement.