Australian Consumer Confidence Sinks as Rate Hit 15-Year High

By James Glynn

SYDNEY--Australian consumer confidence weakened sharply last week after the Reserve Bank of Australia delivered its fourth rise in interest rates this year and left the door open to tightening policy further.

Consumer confidence fell 3.4 points last week to 67.1 points, according to a survey by ANZ Bank and pollster Roy Morgan. The four-week moving average dropped 1.2 points to 70.9 points.

Last week, the RBA raised its official cash rate to a 15-year high of 4.60%, with some potential for it to hike again in November.

The central bank has stressed that inflation remains too high and the unresolved war in the Middle East could keep stoking price pressures.

The RBA is on track to hike in November with core inflation likely to remain well above target, said Sophia Angala, economist at ANZ.

An interest rate increase in November would take the cash rate to 4.85%, its highest since 2008, which would likely weigh on consumer spending, she added.

Weekly inflation expectations rose 0.2 percentage points to 5.9%, while the four-week moving average ticked down 0.1 percentage points to 5.9%, the data showed.

Confidence around current financial conditions fell 8.4 points, and future financial conditions eased by 1.9 points, while the time to buy, a major household item subindex, eased 5.0 points over the week.

Write to James Glynn at james.glynn@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 05, 2026 18:44 ET (22:44 GMT)