ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence was down 3.4pts to 76.4 this week and has now spent a record 30 straight weeks below the mark of 80.
The drop in the index was driven by less confidence about personal finances over the next 12 months as consumers continue to tighten their wallets.
Consumer Confidence is now 11.4pts below the same week a year ago and is 1.7 pts below the 2023 weekly average of 78.1.
ANZ economist Madeline Dunk said the index was unable to build on its upward momentum seen over the last three weeks.
Dunk said each of the five subindices declined, with most Australians (54% - up 2ppts) saying their families are ‘worse off’ financially than this time last year.
Looking forward, 28% (down 5ppts) expect their family to be ‘better off’ financially this time next year while 36% (up 3ppts) expect to be ‘worse off’.
Only 7% (down 1ppt) of Australians expect ‘good times’ for the Australian economy over the next twelve months compared to 35% (up 1ppt) that expect ‘bad times’.
Meanwhile, net sentiment regarding the Australian economy in the longer term has slipped this week, with 10% (unchanged) of Australians expecting ‘good times’ for the economy over the next five years compared to 22% (up 3ppts) expecting ‘bad times’.
“Each of the five subindices declined, and there was a particularly steep drop in the ‘Future financial conditions’ subindex,” Dunk said.
“Confidence amongst those households paying off a mortgage declined by 8.1pts, while it fell 2.9pts for renters and 0.3pts for households who own their home outright.
“Meanwhile, inflation expectations rose to 5.4%, reversing the falls seen in the previous two weeks.
“Inflation expectations are likely to be of interest to the RBA, especially given the recent strength in petrol prices which have averaged over AUD2/litre for the last six weeks.”