A string of interest rate hikes has knocked the confidence of consumers around, although an extended cash interest rate pause may be cause for hope.
Two confidence indicators - the ANZ and Roy Morgan weekly survey and the Westpac and Melbourne Institute monthly survey - have been stuck well below long-run averages as consumers face higher prices and surging borrowing costs.
The Reserve Bank of Australia's decision to keep interest rates on hold for a second month in July may be enough to lighten the mood, although the surveys may also capture the lagging nature of cash rate movements.
Many households have been insulated from the full impact of the interest rate hikes thanks to low fixed-rate mortgages, and even variable-rate customers are yet to feel all 12 of the cash rate increases due to the delayed flow through to bank accounts.
There's also more financial pain on the horizon for renters.
Rents have also been rising and are expected to keep going up due to an imbalance between supply and demand driven by a boost in migration, lower construction, and a trend toward smaller household sizes.
Both the weekly and monthly consumer confidence reports will be released on Tuesday.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics' monthly household spending indicator, due on Tuesday, will also shed some light on consumer spending patterns.
A pulse check on the business community will also be released this week, with the National Australia Bank due to issue its latest business survey on Tuesday.
The business sector has proved relatively resilient to the deteriorating economic environment so far but forward-looking indicators suggest things may soften further.
The ABS will also release its monthly business turnover indicator on Wednesday.
Reserve Bank officials have a number of appearances over the week.
Acting head of domestic markets, Carl Schwartz, is due to speak about climate change and its influence on Australian financial markets at a conference in Sydney.
And senior officials will front a parliamentary economics committee hearing in Canberra on Friday.
Meanwhile, the Australia Securities Exchange is set for flat to lower open on Monday, after Wall Street fell on Friday one the back of a disappointing earnings report from tech giant Apple and signs of a slowing jobs market.
The US S&P 500 lost 23.28 points, or 0.52 per cent, to end at 4,478.61 points, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 50.48 points, or 0.36 per cent, to 13,909.24. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 148.69 points, or 0.42 per cent, to 35,073.53.
Apple said sales for the fiscal third quarter ending July 1 fell 1.4 per cent to $US81.8 billion ($A124.2 billion) and forecast the slump to continue into the current quarter, as it makes a massive investment in artificial intelligence research and development.
The US Labor Department reported that US employers added 187,000 jobs in July, while its data for June was revised lower to 185,000 jobs, from 209,000 reported previously.
The most traded Australian share price index futures contract dipped 11 points to 7254, pointing to a softer start to the week when the local companies earnings reporting season kicks off in earnest.
On Friday, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index finished up 13.6 points, or 0.19 per cent, to 7,325.3, while the All Ordinaries gained 13.6 points, or 0.18 per cent, to 7,535.9.
