German Consumer Confidence Rises In December

Consumer morale in Germany rose moderately in December amid the slowing inflation but sentiment stayed at a very low level signaling no signs of sustainable recovery, survey results published jointly by GfK and the Nuremberg Institute for Market Decisions, showed on Tuesday.

The consumer confidence index rose to -27.8 in December from -28.3 in November. The reading was seen at -27.0.

Consumer climate level remains very low and there are no signs of sustainable recovery in the coming months, Rolf Burkl, consumer expert at NIM, said.

“After three consecutive months of decline, consumer sentiment is stabilizing as the year draws to a close,” Burkl said.

“The mood is still characterized by uncertainty and concern,” the GfK expert added.

Economic expectations remained almost stable in November. The corresponding index rose 0.1 point to -2.3.

Prospects were severely affected by strong fears of recession due to an impending energy shortage.

The income expectations index dropped 1.4 points to -16.7 in November. Income prospects are viewed pessimistically due to high inflation.

Rising food prices are expected to damp purchasing power of households.

Meanwhile, the propensity to buy indicator gained only 1.3 points to -15 in November. The propensity to consume is stagnating and there are no signs of a trend reversal, GfK said.

The propensity to save declined to 5.3 from 8.5 in November.

Despite the easing, the tendency to save remained strong as consumers were more worried about the geopolitical and economic situation as well as high inflation.

The survey was conducted among 2,000 consumers on behalf of the EU commission between November 2 and 13.

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