German Consumer Morale To Fall In September: GfK

German consumer sentiment is expected to fall in September, due to declining income expectations and propensity to buy, a GfK institute survey has shown.

The institute's consumer sentiment index fell to -25.5 heading into September from a slightly revised -24.6 in August, below expectations of analysts polled by Reuters of a reading of -24.3.

"The chances that consumer sentiment can sustainably recover before the end of this year are dwindling more and more," said Ralf Buerkl, consumer expert, GfK.

Persistently high inflation rates are hindering any improvement in consumer sentiment, said Buerkl.

Since consumer sentiment is likely to remain at a low level in the coming months, private consumption will not make a positive contribution to overall economic development this year and will rather be a burden on growth prospects in Germany, the GfK said.

NOTE - The survey period was from 3-14 August 2023.

The consumer climate indicator forecasts the development of real private consumption in the following month.

An indicator reading above zero signals year-on-year growth in private consumption.

A value below zero indicates a drop compared with the same period a year earlier.

One-Point Change

According to GfK, a one-point change in the indicator corresponds to a year-on-year change of 0.1% in private consumption.

The 'willingness to buy' indicator represents the balance between positive and negative responses to the question: 'Do you think now is a good time to buy major items?'

The income expectations sub-index reflects expectations about the development of household finances in the coming 12 months.

The additional business cycle expectations index reflects the assessment of those questioned of the general economic situation in the next 12 months.

Read More: Germany's Bakeries Burnt By Rising Energy Prices

News by Reuters, edited by Donna Ahern, Checkout. For more retail stories, click here. Click subscribe to sign up for the Checkout print edition.