Consumers increasingly ‘pessimistic’ about finances and state of the economy

Westpac senior economist Matthew Hassan reveals consumers are increasingly pessimistic about their finances, and the state of the economy. His remarks are in light of a key consumer confidence measure by Westpac and the Melbourne Institute published on Tuesday which showed an ongoing weakness in consumer sentiment. “Pessimism is the dominant theme,” Mr Hassan told Sky News Australia Business Editor Ross Greenwood. “And really, it’s the cost-of-living crisis that is dominating consumers. “The sentiment measures are telling us there are concerns around family finances. “Pessimists dominate optimists by a huge margin at the moment.”