Consumers unfazed by petrol price hikes. 12/04/2006. ABC News Online

Consumer confidence in Australia looks to have withstood the latest rise in petrol prices.

The Westpac-Melbourne Institute index of consumer sentiment is unchanged this month at 110.7, indicating there are more optimistic households than pessimistic ones.

That is despite a 4 per cent rise in petrol prices in the week before the survey was conducted.

Speculation about an imminent rise in official interest rates also appears to have made little impact.

Westpac says some of the positive factors influencing confidence include successive record highs on the share market, a run of strong economic data, reports of house price increases and speculation about Federal Government tax cuts.

The bank's chief economist, Bill Evans, has been surprised by the outcome.

"Given the overwhelming positive news ... and given the momentum that we've seen in other data in the last couple of weeks, I would have thought that if the interest rate story was not biting, then I certainly would have thought that the index would have been higher," he said.

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