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Evans added that price hikes for furniture (up 8.3 per cent this year) and major household appliances (5.7 per cent) had led to a “negative attitude towards major household purchases”.

“It is ominous that the pace of these price increases has been increasing rapidly,” Evans said.

Continuing the theme of paradoxical economic news, the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported that household spending had increased by 10.2 per cent in June.

“A vibrant jobs market along with solid household balance sheets are important explanations for the current resilient household spending despite deteriorating confidence,” Evans said.

Lithium producers advanced during Tuesday’s session after the US senate passed The US Inflation Reduction Act, which injects $US369 billion ($528 billion) into renewable energy over the next decade. Lake Resources rocketed 15.3 per cent to $1.24. Shares in the lithium miner were trading at 61¢ in mid-July.

Stem cell treatments maker Mesoblast revealed a $65 million raise from existing investors including UK fund M&G Investments, but shares dropped by as much as 12.9 per cent during the session. They recovered slightly to close the day at 86 cents.

The biotech is re-submitting an application to the US Food and Drug Administration for its flagship product, a treatment for graft-versus-host disease, which came very close to getting the green light in 2020 before the regulator asked for more data for the treatment.

Chief executive Silviu Itescu said the business hopes to launch the product in the US in the first quarter of next year.

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