What goes up must come down, especially with renewed pressure on household finances. The September reading for Australia’s Westpac–Melbourne Institute Consumer Sentiment Index fell 5.2% to 84.4.

The decline reflected renewed pressure on household finances, with fuel prices above $2/l, growing expectations of further interest-rate rises following stronger-than-expected inflation and concerns about falling housing prices and job security. Current family finances recorded the sharpest deterioration, with consumer assessments of family finances versus a year ago dropping 9.2%. Interest rate concerns also impacted consumers with a mortgage negatively.