The latest interest rate hike has shaken consumers as businesses report a strong start to the year.
Weekly and monthly consumer confidence surveys capture the February rate hike dragging confidence towards lows last seen in the early days of the pandemic.
The monthly consumer sentiment survey from Westpac and Melbourne Institute revealed a 6.9 percent fall in February after consumers reported feeling more optimistic in December and January.
The February score of 78.5 is not much higher than the 75.6 recorded in April 2020—early in the pandemic—but is below the low point of the Global Financial Crisis.
ANZ and Roy Morgan’s weekly consumer confidence index also plummeted in the wake of the latest RBA rate hike, sinking 5.5 points to 78.1, its lowest level since early April 2020….