Australia’s consumer sentiment deteriorated in August as Victoria’s lockdown stokes fears across the [economy][1], survey data from Westpac showed Wednesday.
The Westpac-Melbourne Institute Index of Consumer Sentiment declined 9.5 percent to 79.5 in August from 87.9 in July.
The score was back near the extreme low of 75.6 seen back in April when Australia entered a national lockdown.
All five component indexes recorded declines in August although the largest falls were around expectations for the economy and assessments of ‘time to buy a major item’.
The ‘economy, next 12mths’ sub-index recorded the biggest decline, slumping 19 percent.
As the second wave outbreak has dented medium term expectations, the ‘economy, next 5yrs’ sub-index registered a substantial 8.7 percent fall.
At the same time, the ‘finances, next 12mths’ sub-index dropped 7.3 percent, consistent with the more difficult path ahead. However, the ‘finances vs a year ago’ sub-index dipped just 0.4 percent to 78.6 in August.
The ‘time to buy a major item’ sub-index dropped 13.2 percent to 90.4 in August.
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