Australian Consumer Confidence Remains Depressed

By James Glynn

SYDNEY--Australian consumer confidence rose slightly last week, but remains deeply depressed overall as households deal with surging mortgage repayments and cost of living pressures on a broad front.

Consumer confidence rose 0.9 points last week to 68.0 points, with the four-week moving average down 1.5 points to 69.4 points, according to a survey by the ANZ Bank and pollster Roy Morgan.

"Despite the small rise, confidence remains well below its long-run average. This suggests higher rates and inflation continue to weigh on households and are likely to slow consumer demand over the near term," said Sophia Angala, economist at ANZ.

The data comes as financial markets await third quarter inflation data at the end of this month, with traders seeing a strong probability that the Reserve Bank of Australia delivers a fifth interest rate rise this year in November.

Senior RBA officials have been signalling that they are no longer prepared to wait for inflation to return to target, with interest rates now at their highest level in 15 years.

Some economists are warning that a further interest rate rise will see mortgage repayments as a percentage of household income rise to its highest level since the late 1980s.

Weekly inflation expectations rose 0.2 percentage points to 6.1%, while the four-week moving average ticked up 0.1 percentage points to 6.0%, the survey showed.

"Another 25 basis point increase in the cash rate in November is more likely than not," Angala said.

ANZ expects core inflation will exceed the RBA's forecasts for the third quarter, cementing in place the case for a further interest rate increase, she added.

Confidence around current financial conditions increased 1.4 points last week, and future financial conditions lifted 1.2 points.

The weekly ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian consumer confidence rating is based on 1,026 interviews conducted online and over the telephone during the week to Sunday.

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

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 12, 2026 18:56 ET (22:56 GMT)