Australian consumer sentiment holds up as Sydney locks down

[SYDNEY] A measure of Australian consumer sentiment rebounded in July as relief at the end of coronavirus lockdowns in some states offset the latest shutdown in Sydney, at least for now.

The Westpac-Melbourne Institute index of consumer sentiment released on Wednesday rose 1.5 per cent, recouping a little of June's 5.2 per cent drop.

That left the index up 23.8 per cent on July last year when the country was still emerging from a round of nationwide lockdowns.

The index reading of 108.8 showed optimists outnumbered pessimists.

"Confidence has held up overall despite a sharp fall in NSW as other states - notably Victoria and Western Australia - recorded strong bounce-backs from Covid-related disruptions in June," said Westpac chief economist Bill Evans.

"The main takeaway is that concerns around the current virus outbreak and associated restrictions in NSW are not spilling over to the rest of the country."

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The survey was conducted over the week of July 5-9, when Sydney was also locked down but restrictions were tightened further on July 9.

REUTERS