Consumer confidence in Australia has plunged to the lowest level since records began in 1973 as soaring fuel prices and rising interest rates increase the prospect of slowdowns in household spending and economic growth this year.
Economists said the huge drop in consumer confidence to levels lower than during the pandemic – amid rising energy prices, cost-of-living concerns and fears of fuel shortages – would create challenges for Treasurer Jim Chalmers to sell an ambitious tax reform plan in the May budget.
