Consumer confidence at record low

Stuff reports:

Consumers’ confidence in the economic outlook has sunk to a lower level than when Covid first struck and the nadir it experienced during the Global Finance Crisis in 2008, according to an ANZ survey.

The bank said its consumer confidence index crashed 16 points in February to stand at 82 points, which was lowest the index has been since the bank began the surveys in 2004.

ANZ chief economist Sharon Zollner said it was “remarkable” confidence was lower than when Covid first struck early in 2020, “when the uncertainty was so extreme”.

This suggests the record low isn’t so much about Covid-19 as about runaway inflation.