Westpac Consumer Confidence Index fell....>

AUSTRALIA: Westpac Consumer Confidence Index fell to 95.1 from 97.0 in Dec.

Westpac write in the accompanying commentary: "This poor performance of the

Index is broadly consistent with the sharp deterioration we saw in consumer

spending in the September quarter as reported in the national accounts and the

early evidence of weak retail conditions for the start of the December quarter."

- Re: Australian labour market, they comment: "The Westpac-Melbourne Institute

Unemployment Expectations Index rose 1.1% to 138 in December, up 14.1% on this

time last year and a two and a half year high. (...) Note that Westpac is

expecting the unemployment rate to lift to 5.6% from 5.3% over the course of the

first half of 2020."

- On the RBA, Westpac write: "Westpac expects that the Board will decide to cut

the cash rate by 0.25% to 0.5%. While this survey highlights the risk of a

negative impact on confidence of very low rates, the Board will still be

impressed by the other channels through which monetary policy has been working -

boosting asset prices and maintaining downward pressure on the exchange rate."

- See the full piece at http://tiny.cc/Westpac.