Consumers less afraid

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But still afraid. Westpac.


• Westpac Consumer Sentiment Index up 4% to 95.9 in March.
• Slowing inflation and rate cut lift confidence to three-year high.
• Unsettling overseas news looks to be weighing on the outlook for the
economy.
• Sentiment towards major purchases showing a promising improvement.
• Consumers’ own finances stabilising and further improvement expected.
• Positive view on jobs suggests ‘soft landing’ has been achieved.

About the author
David Llewellyn-Smith is Chief Strategist at the MB Fund and MB Super. David is the founding publisher and editor of MacroBusiness and was the founding publisher and global economy editor of The Diplomat, the Asia Pacific’s leading geo-politics and economics portal. He is also a former gold trader and economic commentator at The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, the ABC and Business Spectator. He is the co-author of The Great Crash of 2008 with Ross Garnaut and was the editor of the second Garnaut Climate Change Review.