Despite the improvement, consumer sentiment remains below its March level and still firmly in deeply pessimistic territory. At 83.6, the Index remains well below the ‘neutral’ level of 100, meaning pessimists outnumber optimists by nearly 20ppts. The survey detail suggests positives from fiscal support measures are being negated by increased concerns about inflation and the outlook for interest rates. This shows through clearly in consumer assessments of recent news coverage. Our March, June, September and December surveys include additional questions about which news topics consumers recall and how favourable this ... (full story)