Australia Westpac Consumer Sentiment Index dropping sharpy by -7.9% from 85.8 to 79.0 in May. This decline brings the index close to the grim levels observed in March, which were the lowest since COVID-19 outbreak in 2020 and, prior to that, since the severe recession of early 1990s.

The unexpected decision by RBA to raise the cash rate by an additional 0.25% in May, as well as the Federal Budget, were cited by Westpac as the two main factors impacting consumer sentiment over the last month.

Westpac stated, “Interest rates were again a key driver of the May survey. The RBA raised the official cash rate by a further 0.25% at its May meeting in the week before the survey. The move came as a major surprise to markets and most commentators, clearly stoking consumer fears of more increases to come.”

Looking ahead, Westpac predicts that RBA will likely pause in June, awaiting further data on inflation and the state of the economy. While the bank’s central view anticipates the current cash rate will remain at its peak due to economic weakness and clear progress toward the Board’s inflation target, it acknowledges that the risks are still “evenly balanced”.

Full Australia Westpac consumer sentiment release here.

Australia AiG Performance of Services dropped sharply by -6.1 pts to 51.7 in July. That’s the largest monthly decline since April 2020. Looking at some details, sales dropped -12.9 to 53.2. Employment dropped -3.2 to 51.0. New orders rose 0.1 to 56.7. Supplier deliveries dropped -9.6 to 45.3. Input prices rose 8.7 to 74.1. Selling prices rose 13.2 to 66.7. Average wages rose 2.0 to 68.0.

Ai Group Chief Executive, Innes Willox, said: “The substantial easing in the performance of the Australian services sector in July was mainly driven by the COVID-19 outbreaks and associated restrictions…. There were some encouraging signs with employment and sales holding up and new orders coming in at a faster pace than in June. This provides some grounds to expect the services sector could bounce back quickly if restrictions were able to be lifted. However, with COVID-19 infections and restricted areas on the rise in the early days of August, the chances of an early rebound appear to be fading.”

Full release here.

Australia NAB Business Confidence rose to -20 in May, up from April’s -45. Business Conditions rose to -24, up from 34. Looking at some details, trading conditions rose to -14, up from -31. Profitability rose to -19, up form -35. Employment rose just slightly to -31, up from -34.

According to Alan Oster, NAB Group Chief Economist said negative conditions indicates that “activity was still extremely weak in May.” Also, “forward orders suggest that in the short-term activity is likely to remain weak in the business sector and combined with low capacity utilisation and still very weak confidence points to ongoing restraint in Capex spending”. Recovery in confidence will likely be a “key factor” in how businesses recovery from the largest downturn since 1930s.

Full release here.