Australia consumer sentiment recovers partially from tariff blow

SYDNEY (Reuters) -A measure of Australian consumer sentiment partially rebounded in May as the initial shock of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff war faded a little, an improvement that should be underpinned by the latest truce with China.

A Westpac-Melbourne Institute survey showed on Tuesday its main index of consumer sentiment bounced 2.2% in May, retracing some of the 6.0% dive suffered in April when Trump first announced his "reciprocal" tariffs.

The index was 12% higher than a year earlier at 92.1, though that meant pessimists still outnumbered optimists.

Matthew Hassan, Westpac's head of Australian macro-forecasting, said overall sentiment got a modest boost from the clear victory of the Labor government in a national election on May 3.

Sentiment among Labor voters jumped 4.5% to a high 109.6, while confidence among supporters of the Liberal National opposition fell 0.7% to 85.5.

The survey found respondents were more upbeat about their personal finances, which climbed 7.8%, while the economic outlook for the year ahead rose 2.8%.

The index on whether it was a good time to buy a major household item also climbed 3.5%, leaving it almost 22% higher than a year earlier.

(Reporting by Wayne Cole; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)

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