Australian consumer confidence falls for the second consecutive month
Australian consumer confidence fell for the second consecutive month in December, a survey showed on Wednesday.
The Westpac-Melbourne Institute index of consumer sentiment fell 3.8 percent to 113.8 points in December, from 118.3 in November. This is partly because Australian households with mortgages worried about the impact of higher interest rate charges on their budgets, the survey says.
Westpac chief economist Bill Evans said the fall in the index was a "surprisingly modest" following the recent rises to interest rates.
The Australian Reserve Bank (RBA) lifted the overnight cash rate by 25 basis points to 3.75 percent on Dec. 1, following similar moves in October and November.
It was the first time the RBA had lifted the cash rate for three consecutive months since announcing its monetary policy decisions in January 1990.