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. <\/p>\n
The consumer confidence index rose to -27.8 in December from -28.3 in November. The reading was seen at -27.0.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
“After three consecutive months of decline, consumer sentiment is stabilizing as the year draws to a close,” Burkl said.<\/p>\n
“The mood is still characterized by uncertainty and concern,” the GfK expert added.<\/p>\n
Economic expectations remained almost stable in November. The corresponding index rose 0.1 point to -2.3. <\/p>\n
Prospects were severely affected by strong fears of recession due to an impending energy shortage. <\/p>\n
The income expectations index dropped 1.4 points to -16.7 in November. Income prospects are viewed pessimistically due to high inflation. <\/p>\n
Rising food prices are expected to damp purchasing power of households. <\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
The propensity to save declined to 5.3 from 8.5 in November.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
The survey was conducted among 2,000 consumers on behalf of the EU commission between November 2 and 13. <\/p>\n