The Westpac Melbourne Institute Consumer Sentiment Index declined 2.4% to 82.4 in April, from 84.4 in March.
The pessimism that has dominated the consumer mood for nearly two years now is still showing few signs of lifting. The latest Index read is well below the ‘neutral’ level of 100, meaning pessimists outnumber optimists by over 15ppts. It is also in line with the average recorded over the last 24 months, marking an extended period of bleak sentiment reads by historical standards. Indeed, outside of the deep recession of the early 1990s, this is easily the second most protracted period of deep consumer pessimism since we began surveying in the mid-1970s, with all other sentiment slumps lasting nine months or less.
Source
Westpac: Consumer sentiment sinks back towards historic lows, 9 April 2024