People are starting to worry; ABC Online; A new report has found interest rate rises and petrol prices are the two issues causing most concern among consumers.
The Sensis Consumer Report has found there has a been a large drop in confidence in the last quarter.
It says confidence levels have fallen 14 percentage points to 42 per cent.
Report author Christena Singh says while an increase in interest rates is causing some concern, it is the ongoing high petrol price that is prompting more caution.
"Fuel prices had a much larger impact ... fuel prices have increased significantly during the course of the survey and we're finding that increasing to quite high levels amongst consumers," she said.
She says people on incomes of less than $85,000 a year are more likely to be worried about the impact of high petrol prices, while those about the $85,000 mark are keeping a nervous eye on the Reserve Bank and interest rates.
"That segment of society and of the Australian population is very sensitive at the moment to these increases in interest rates," she said.
The report also found that women are more worried than men about their financial prospects, and 40 per cent of Australians had cut back on consumption because of petrol prices.
"We've seen consumer confidence in the Sensis Consumer Report fall more strongly amongst female Australians than amongst males," she said.
"We've seen four-in-10 say they're actually confident about their finances, with most being concerned to a greater degree than we're seeing amongst the male population."
Ms Singh says the report shows a large variation in consumer confidence across the country.
It shows consumer confidence levels in New South Wales are the lowest in the country, while consumers in Western Australia and the Northern Territory are the most confident.
"At one end of the nation is New South Wales, where we're seeing the lowest consumer confidence at 38 per cent net balance, and then at the other end of the nation we're seeing Western Australia and the Northern Territory equal on 62 per cent net balance," she said.
A report released yesterday found business confidence is also dropping amid concerns about interest rates and the oil price.
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