Australia Consumer Confidence Rises In August

Consumer confidence in Australia increased at a faster rate in August, results of a survey by Westpac and the Melbourne Institute showed Wednesday. The Westpac/Melbourne Institute consumer sentiment index rose 3.8 percent month-on-month to 98.5 in August from 94.9, still remaining below the no-change mark of 100. In July, the index had risen 1.9 percent. The sub-index measuring household financial expectations rose 11.9 percent. Employment expectations improved in August but remained below the peak recorded in March. On a year-over-year basis, the index fell 6.8 percent in August. "This is a pleasing result," said Bill Evans, chief economists at Westpac. "Over the last three months the index has increased by a total of 5.9 percent indicating that much of the damage to confidence in the aftermath of the budget has been repaired." The material has been provided by InstaForex Company - www.instaforex.com
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