Aussie consumer sentiment collapses following RBA rate hike

Last week’s 25 bp interest rate hike from the Reserve Bank has dealt a hammer blow to consumer sentiment.

Westpac’s monthly consumer sentiment survey fell 4.7% to 80.4, with responses during the survey week showing a “very sharp pull-back after the RBA rate hike”.

“The sentiment read across the 40% surveyed after the RBA decision came in at just 67.2, an alarmingly weak read that, for complete surveys, has only been registered during the depths of the early 1990s recession”, Westpac senior economist Matthew Hassan wrote.