Consumers seem to have taken the latest negative GDP figures to heart. According to the latest survey of consumer sentiment, Australians are generally more pessimistic than they were a month ago. The December Westpac-Melbourne Institute consumer sentiment index fell for the second month in a row from November’s reading of 101.3 to a reading of 97.3. Any reading below 100 indicates the number of consumers who are pessimistic is more than the number of consumers who are optimistic.
Financial markets largely ignored the results in the lead up to the US Fed’s interest rate decision. By the close of business, 3 year and 10 year bond yields were both down 3bps to 1.93% and 2.83% respectively while the AUD was a little lower at just under 75 US cents during afternoon trading.
