Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 18-Mar-26

IIn February 2026, Roy Morgan Business Confidence plunged 8.8pts to 88.6, its lowest level since September 2020 during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Business Confidence has now dropped by 16.4pts in the last two months, the largest two-month fall since August 2021. The result came after the Reserve Bank raised interest rates to 3.85% in early February, its first interest rate increase since November 2023. It is important to note that this result for Business Confidence came before the Israeli and US attacks on Iran which began on the final day of February and have already sent oil and gas prices soaring. Business Confidence is now 20pts below the long-term average of 109.6, and down 19.9 points from a year ago. Now 24.7% (down 2.5ppts) of respondents say their business is ‘better off’ financially than a year ago, while 41.3% (up 11.6ppts) say the business is ‘worse off’ (the highest figure for this indicator since September 2024). Just 37.1% (up 3.8ppts) of respondents expect the business to be ‘better off’ financially this time next year, while 24.8% (up 0.4ppts) expect the business to be ‘worse off’. Meanwhile, 33.8% (down 1.1ppts) of respondents say the next 12 months will be a ‘good time to invest’ in growing the business, while 41% (up 4.1ppts) say the next 12 months will be a ‘bad time to invest’.

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