Australian shoppers reduce food spending due to rising insurance and education costs.

Shoppers in Australia are cutting back on food spending to cope with rising insurance and education costs, causing a slump in household spending. Commonwealth Bank's households spending insights show a 1% monthly drop and 2.6% growth in spending over the past year, down from 3.9% in the year to February. Food and beverage spending has fallen 3.8% in April and 1.4% in the year to April.