Market Essentials - February 2019

As we start a new year, figures regarding consumer confidence continue to decline, with -4.7 per cent on the Melbourne Institute and Westpac Bank Consumer Sentiment Index. A reading of 99.6 per cent for January 2019 is the lowest since September 2017. According to Westpac’s Matthew Hassan, although confidence usually dips in the new year, they’ve seen a more severe fall due to “growing pessimism about both the economy and family finances”.