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Australian consumer sentiment still low: survey

Xinhua, January 21, 2015 Adjust font size:

Consumer sentiment remains low in Australia despite rising in January, a new survey revealed on Wednesday.

The Westpac-Melbourne Institute Index of Consumer Sentiment increased by 2.4 percent to 93.2 points in January, up from 91.1 in December.

Westpac bank chief economist Bill Evans said January's results were not particularly strong.

"When assessed in the context of the sharp 5.7 percent fall in the index in December it is not a particularly strong result," he said in a statement.

"The Index is still down by 9.7 percent on a year ago and really only back at the levels we saw in the immediate aftermath of the Federal Budget when the index had tumbled by 6.8 percent."

Evans said it was encouraging to at least see an increase in the index, however the reading was still below 100, meaning that economic pessimists outnumber optimists. Endi