Australia’s Westpac consumer sentiment index is up by 3.5 per cent to 83 in May from 80.1 in April as fuel shock eases.
Despite a small improvement, consumers remain deeply pessimistic, the latest Westpac-Melbourne Institute Consumer Sentiment Bulletin said.
Some of last month’s shock from the spike in fuel prices has eased.
Broader inflationary pressures still look to be dampening sentiment as well.