1038 [Dow Jones] Australian consumer sentiment dives 9.1% in...

1038 [Dow Jones] Australian consumer sentiment dives 9.1% in March from February as aggressive interest rate hikes stress household budgets. Index fell to 88.6 points, lowest since September 1993, Westpac and the Melbourne Institute say. Consumer sentiment index fell 23.3% from year earlier in seasonally-adjusted terms. In trend terms, index fell 7.3% in March vs February, contributing to an 18.5% annual decline. "This is an extraordinary large fall," says Westpac chief economist Bill Evans. After 12 interest hikes since mid-2002, official interest rates have now likely peaked at their current 12-year high of 7.25%. Australian government bonds firmer, AUD/USD slightly weaker after report. AUD/USD now 0.9281, down from around 0.9290. (JEG)