sydneyaustralian consumer sentiment slumped for a seventh consecutive month in july reflecting growing concerns about recession risks in the economy the westpacmelbourne institute index of consumer sentiment fell 30 to 838 in july from 864 in june the index is consistent with prior readings seen during periods of major disruption in the australian economy including the covid19 pandemic the global financial crisis a recession in the early 1990s and a recession in the early 1980s said bill evans chief economist at westpac the index has now fallen 197 since december 2021 a precipitous tumble comparable to the twomonth plunge during the pandemic news around rising inflation is driving the retreat with around 60 of respondents recalling news on this topic compared to a longrun average of 12 other triggers were news around the domestic economy and interest rates without doubt consumers are still very sensitive to the inflation pressures on their budgets but it appears their anxiety around interest rates is increasing he added componentwise the biggest falls in july were around the economic outlook sentiment around the economy in the next 12 months fell 42 and sentiment around the economy over the next five years dropped 67 the survey showed still sentiment around the labor market remains strong with the unemployment rate around 50year lows we should not be complacent about labor market conditions as there are often significant lags between shifts in the confidence measures and the labor market mr evans said during the global financial crisis for example the peak in unemployment expectations came in early 2009 more than six months after the low in consumer sentiment mr evans said