Australia Consumer Sentiment Declines After RBA Raises Rates

Australia’s consumer sentiment slipped in February after the Reserve Bank became the first major monetary authority to hike its key interest rate this year in an effort to tame stubbornly strong inflation.

Sentiment fell 2.6% to 90.5 points in response to the rate hike, a Westpac Banking Corp. survey showed Tuesday. That meant pessimists outweighed optimists with the dividing line standing at 100.