The expectation of upcoming hikes in interest rates has caused confidence to fall significantly among households having a mortgage in recent months.
The Westpac-Melbourne Institute consumer sentiment index dropped 0.9 percent to 95.8 points in April, reaching the lowest level since September 2020, when fears of the COVID-19 pandemic were dominating.
An index below 100 points means that pessimistic respondents outnumber optimistic ones in the monthly survey, which indicates a negative trend for future household spending.
The downturn in April comes after the index slumped 4.2 percent in March when consumers started to lose confidence due to worries about rising inflation and interest rates and the impacts of the flood crisis.
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