Headline consumer confidence suffered a large fall of 4.6 points (-4.1 per cent) and all subindices weakened.
'Current financial conditions' declined 5.8 points (-5.6 per cent), more than offsetting the previous week's gain, while 'future financial conditions' fell 4.3 points (-3.4 per cent).
'Current economic conditions' dropped 4.0 points (-3.9 per cent), while 'future economic conditions' softened for the fourth week in a row by 0.8 points (-0.7 per cent).
'Time to buy a major household item' fell 7.9 points (-6.6 per cent), its largest fall since August 2020. Both 'weekly inflation expectations' and its four week moving average remained steady at 3.7 per cent and 3.8 per cent respectively.
"New COVID-19 cases, the snap Brisbane lockdown and the end of JobKeeper combined to drag consumer confidence down 4.6 points," ANZ Senior Economist, Catherine Birch said.
"This was the largest fall since late-March 2020. Not even the Easter long weekend could cheer us up; in fact, in four of the five years pre-COVID, confidence declined over Easter."
"Queensland recorded the sharpest drop of 11.2 points, even though the three-day Brisbane lockdown ended on Thursday, but all other states bar South Australia also recorded declines."
"History shows confidence tends to bounce back quickly once lockdowns lift though, so we should see confidence improve over coming weeks. It's possible, however, that the end of JobKeeper on March 28 will have a more prolonged effect on confidence."
