A measure of Australian consumer sentiment has bounced back toward a decade high in February as the largely successful containment of coronavirus outbreaks in some cities offered reassurance on the economic outlook.
The Westpac-Melbourne Institute index of consumer sentiment released on Wednesday rose 1.9% in February, recouping a chunk of January's 4.5% drop caused when partial lockdowns spooked consumers.
That left the index up a solid 14.2% on February last year at 109.1, indicating optimists clearly outnumber pessimists.
"Recall that the December print was a 10-year high so the bounce-back in February signals that the consumer remains extraordinarily confident," said Westpac's chief economist, Bill Evans.
The survey measure of the outlook for the economy over the next 12 months rebounded by 6.9% in February, while that for the next five years edged up 0.5%.
Family finances compared with a year ago dipped 0.6%, but the index for finances over the next 12 months gained 2.6%. A measure of whether it was a good time to buy a major household item firmed 0.4%.
The housing market remained a hot topic with the survey's index of house price expectations rising 6.5% to a seven-year high.
At the same time, the rebound in prices was making housing less affordable with the measure of whether it was the right time to buy a dwelling falling 3.1%.
(Reporting by Wayne Cole; Editing by Sam Holmes)
