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According to the CommBank Household Spending Insights Index, household spending in Australia fell in February 2026 for the first time since September 2024, capping a 17-month era of rise.
Annual growth slowed to 4.9%, the lowest level since August 2025, while spending decreased by 0.5% during the month.
The decline indicates that, following a protracted period of resilience bolstered by higher salaries, households cut back on spending.
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About the author
David Llewellyn-Smith is Chief Strategist at the MB Fund and MB Super. David is the founding publisher and editor of MacroBusiness and was the founding publisher and global economy editor of The Diplomat, the Asia Pacific's leading geo-politics and economics portal.
He is also a former gold trader and economic commentator at The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, the ABC and Business Spectator. He is the co-author of The Great Crash of 2008 with Ross Garnaut and was the editor of the second Garnaut Climate Change Review.