Business confidence has become inflation's latest victim

The latest ANZ Business Outlook Survey has shown confidence has fallen, with residential construction the worst affected sector.

On consumer wariness, the Reserve Bank is assuming it's due to Omicron, but ANZ reckons it's down to cost of living, rising interest rates and falling house prices.

ANZ Chief Economist Sharon Zollner says businesses are not nearly as downbeat as consumers, as households become leading influencers in the survey.

She says it's unusual for a turn in the business cycle to be led by households.