Anthony McDonald

I mean, it wasn't surprising to see both had soured.

Yes, businesses and households have just been slapped with two interest rate rises.

Plus, you've got inflation's a problem again.

Michelle Bullock's talking pretty tough.

We've got petrol prices now.

There's potential for petrol and diesel shortages, which is a real headache for business, probably more so than price.

So if we just look at the business survey, I mean, it was conducted from the 24th to the 31st of March.

Okay.

Cast your mind back, James.

That was when the sort of sentiment around the Orion Wall was probably at its lowest.

The view of it had gone from, all right, this is just a quick trip to fix up a couple of things to, uh-oh, the oil shock's real and this could really last a while.

Yes.

So that's when the survey was taken.

So, I mean, keep that in the back of your mind.

At the time, business said the trading conditions were actually –

Good.

Employment conditions were actually good, as good as they were in January and February.

Nothing had changed there.

But it was just that confidence piece, the outlook piece had absolutely fallen off a cliff.

Now, the Consumer Sentiment Survey, that was done a week or two later in the week after Easter.