By James Glynn
SYDNEY--Australian consumer confidence is at its worst since 1990 when the economy was heading into a deep recession that threw thousands out of work and devastated small business, with the economy taking years to recover.
According to a weekly survey by ANZ Bank and pollster Roy Morgan, consumer confidence fell 1.1 points last week, with sentiment toward current financial conditions plunging 4.3 points from the week prior.
ANZ Senior Economist Adelaide Timbrell said the average confidence for May was 76.8 points, the weakest calendar-month average since December 1990, as cost-of-living pressure continues to impact households.
The weekly result was the fifth-worst since January 2020 and represented the 13th consecutive week below 80 points, she added.
Weekly inflation expectations rose 0.2 percentage point to 5.3%, while its four-week moving average increased 0.1 percentage point to 5.3%.
Sentiment around future financial conditions softened 0.3 point over the week while current economic conditions declined 2.0 points and future economic conditions fell 0.6 point after a 2.7-point loss the week before.
Still, consumers were more upbeat about buying a major household item, with the measure up 1.3 points for the week, the survey showed.
The weekly ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence Rating is based on 1,485 interviews conducted online and over the telephone during the week to Sunday.
Write to James Glynn at James.Glynn@wsj.com
