Interest Rate Rises Drive Australian Consumer Confidence Down to Recession Levels

A shopper places produce in a bag at Victoria Market in Melbourne, Australia, on July 5, 2022. William West/AFP via Getty Images

Australian consumers and businesses are increasingly feeling bleaker about the country’s economic outlook as interest rates and inflation continue to rise.

Three surveys by Westpac bank and Melbourne Institute, ANZ bank and Roy Morgan, and National Australia Bank (NAB) have found that consumers and mortgage holders are getting more and more pessimistic about the future.