However, the report fails to take account of this week's market tumult.

Westpac said on Wednesday the main consumer sentiment index jumped 4.2 per cent in February, back into positive territory at 101.3 points, after slumping below 100 points in January.

A reading below 100 means pessimists outnumber optimists on issues such as family finances, economic conditions and purchasing plans.

Chief economist Bill Evans ascribed the bounce in February to cheap petrol and relief at the end of the previous sharemarket rout, which ran between late December and early January.

However, he warned the February survey period cut off before the latest global share market carnage, which included a near-3 per cent plunge in Australia's main stock index on Tuesday.

Investors are nervous about weak commodity prices and global growth, the build-up of risks in bank debt, and whether the US central bank will keep lifting interest rates.

"It is important to note that since the February survey closed on February 6 there has been renewed weakness, with the Australian sharemarket down by nearly 3 per cent and oil prices down by 8 per cent," he said.

"Of course it is too early to speculate whether markets will continue to weaken over the next few weeks."

Respondents' sensitivity to market gyrations is best measured in their perception of family finances relative to a year ago, says Mr Evans.

This plunged 9.4 per cent after the end-of-year equity sell-off, only to bounce back 11.3 per cent before the latest bout of market jitters.

Survey participants were less upbeat about the Australian economy, however, and notably pessimistic about the jobs market, with unemployment expectations climbing 1.9 per cent.

The mood on housing has also darkened, noted Mr Evans, with the "time to buy a dwelling" index down 12 per cent at 99.3 to wipe out most of the 14 per cent rise seen in January.

"After sending some encouraging signals in January, sentiment toward housing soured again in February," said Mr Evans, although he said some of the decline "is likely to be seasonal".

Despite the fresh doubts creeping back into the outlook for global markets and the Australian economy, Mr Evans is sticking by his forecast that the Reserve Bank of Australia will not cut the cash rate again this year.

"Following the recent turmoil, markets are convinced that the Reserve Bank will be cutting rates by May, if not earlier," he said.

[Wednesday's] report highlights that one of the bank's most significant concerns of whether international developments will weigh on domestic demand will need more time to resolve.

"Certainly the resilience of consumer sentiment, and in particular, respondents' assessments of their own financial position, are not pointing to a significant deterioration in domestic demand," he said.