Australia’s Consumer Confidence Slumps After RBA Turns Hawkish

Australia’s consumer confidence slumped in December as the Reserve Bank indicated that its brief easing cycle has come to an end and there’s the potential for a return to interest-rate hikes in 2026.

Sentiment, which gauges how consumers feel about the economy, dropped 9% to 94.5 points, a Westpac Banking Corp. survey showed Tuesday. That meant pessimists once again outweighed optimists with the dividing line being 100, after November marked the first positive reading since early 2022.