Aussie confidence falls

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Australian consumer sentiment has fallen to its lowest level in two years, as households worry that interest rates will rise soon, a survey shows.

The Westpac-Melbourne Institute Index of Consumer Sentiment fell 2.6 per cent in June to 101.2, from 103.9 in May.

That's the lowest level for the index since June 2009, according to Bill Evans, chief economist at Westpac.

"At that time [in June 2009], households were relieved that Australia appeared to have escaped the recessions which had affected most of the developed world, but were still fearful of the near-term outlook," he said.

By comparison, the June 2011 survey found consumers were more confident about the near-term outlook for the economy, but were concerned about their own financial position.

The measure of how respondents feel about their financial position compared with a year ago was 82.4 in June 2009, compared with 75.9 in June 2011.

The outlook for finances over the next 12 months was 113.8 in June 2009, compared with 95.5 in June 2011.

"The explanation for why the index continues to print such soft results must lie in those factors which are so depressing respondents' assessments of their own financial position,"
Evans said.

- AAP