The Westpac-Melbourne Institute Index of Consumer Sentiment fell by 4.2% to 96.6 in March from 100.8 in February. This is the weakest print since September 2020, which is also the last time the index was below the 100-level indicating that pessimists outnumber optimists. That previous low marked the end of a fifteen-month run of pessimism that began when the economy hit a flat patch in the second half of 2019 and worsened dramatically with the onset of the global pandemic just over two years ago. The survey was conducted in the week of February 28 to March 4. It would have captured most of the response to the ... (full story)