Australian Consumer, Business Sentiment Converge as Prices Bite
- Consumer sentiment recovers, but still 23% below year earlier
- Business confidence drops below 0 for the first time this year
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Australia’s consumer sentiment remained deeply pessimistic and business confidence turned negative for the first time this year as rapid-fire interest rate increases dragged on the economy.
Consumer sentiment rose 3% to 80.3 in December, recovering from a 2-1/2-year low while pessimists easily outweighed optimists, Westpac Banking Corp. said Tuesday. Separate data from National Australia Bank Ltd. showed business confidence fell to -4 in November after holding above 0 since December 2021.