After rising sharply earlier this year, consumer sentiment is falling, recording its second consecutive fall in April. The Westpac-Melbourne Institute consumer sentiment index declined 2.4% points from the prior month to 82.4 in April. It’s the longest time the index has remained in negative territory since the 1990s recession.

According to the Melbourne Institute, the component indices show improvement in assessments of family finances but a loss of confidence in the economic outlook and a fall in buyer sentiment.