{
  "id": 19255154,
  "title": "Australian consumer sentiment hits four-year low in November as rates rise",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/10/australian-consumer-sentiment-hits-four-year-low-in-november-as-rates",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-11-10T00:54:39.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Investing.com",
    "slug": "investing-com",
    "url": "https://www.investing.com/news/economy-news/australian-consumer-sentiment-hits-fouryear-low-in-november-as-rates-rise-5013825"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In November, Australian consumer sentiment hit a four-year low, according to a survey conducted by Westpac-Melbourne Institute. The main index of consumer sentiment dropped by 2.7% to 78.2, following significant declines of 4.7% and 5.2% in October and September respectively. This was almost a 25% decrease from the previous year. The survey revealed that pessimists far outnumbered optimists, with sentiment continuing to reach extreme lows, as reported by Westpac's head of Australian macro-forecasting, Matthew Hassan. Consumers are preparing for further interest rate increases. The Reserve Bank of Australia raised rates for the fifth time in 2023, reaching an 18-year high of 4.85% to combat inflation. This led to a 10.2% decline in the survey's measure of the economic outlook for the next 12 months, while another sub-index measuring the desirability of purchasing major household items fell by 3.7%.",
  "summary": null,
  "key_points": [
    "Australian consumer sentiment hit a four-year low in November",
    "Reserve Bank of Australia raised rates to 4.85% in 2023",
    "Economic outlook for next 12 months declined 10.2%"
  ],
  "editors_take": "Persistent interest rate hikes are crushing household confidence and stalling major purchases, signaling a deepening period of economic pessimism as consumers brace for further monetary tightening.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}