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Australia’s Consumer Sentiment Falls Further on Rate-Hike Fears
Australia’s consumer pessimism deepened as households worried about the prospect for further interest-rate increases, while business confidence rose to the highest level since early 2023. A National Australia Bank Ltd. survey Tuesday showed business confidence jumped 6 points to 4 in June, driven by an increase in all industries but construction. Business conditions, which measure sales, employment and profitability, eased 2 points to 4, below their long-run average. A separate household survey from Westpac Banking Corp. released an hour earlier showed consumer sentiment dropped 1.1% from June to 82.7 points in ... (full story)