Australia’s Rate Cuts Fail to Lift Gloom Hanging Over Economy

Australia’s interest-rate cuts failed to gain traction as households’ worries about the economic outlook sent consumer confidence slumping to a two-year low.

The sentiment index fell 4.1% to 96.5 in July, the weakest reading since August 2017, Westpac Banking Corp. said in a statement Wednesday. The biggest decline was in the sub-index tracking expectations for the economy in the next 12 months, which plunged 12.3%.