India, Feb. 11 -- Australian consumers remained 'cautiously pessimistic' in February amid stretched household finances, survey data from Westpac showed on Tuesday.
The Westpac-Melbourne Institute Consumer Sentiment Index registered 92.2 in February, slightly up from 92.1 in January.
The survey suggested that there may have been a larger than normal financial 'hangover' from the Christmas period and that many are still struggling with cost-of-living problems.
The 'family finances vs a year ago' sub-index slipped 3.4 percent to 75.1 in February. At 105, the 'finances, next 12 months' rose to 105.0, meaning optimists outnumber pessimists.
The sub-indexes tracking expectations for the economy over the next 12 months and over the next five y...