The monthly consumer‑confidence survey carried out by GfK shows that Germany’s overall mood is getting worse.
The Consumer Climate Index fell to “‑28.0 points” in April-down from the “‑24.8‑point” level recorded in March (after a revision).
While the willingness to buy new goods and to save remains largely unchanged this month, the outlook on future earnings has deteriorated sharply.
Income expectations, which had been positive at the start of the year, dropped “12.6 points” to “‑6.3”, reentering the pessimistic range.
According to the study’s authors, this slump is driven partly by a gloomy economic outlook and largely by rising energy prices that are stoking fears of higher inflation.
Purchase inclination stayed near “‑10.9 points”, showing only modest losses from the previous month.
Savings inclination, which reached a 2008‑high of “18.5 points” in February, remains very high at about the same level in March.
Rolf Bürkl of the Nuremberg Institute for Market Decisions (NIM), which co‑conducts the survey, explained that the drop to “‑28 points” signals a clear deterioration of consumer sentiment. “Although purchase and savings attitudes are still only mildly affected by the Iran dispute, consumers expect inflation to climb again as energy prices rise, which will further dampen economic recovery” he said. He added that “60 % of Germans” believe that prices for oil, gas and gasoline will stay permanently high, a factor that “definitely hurts consumer mood”.
The study also finds that the Iran war is amplifying overall uncertainty. More than “90 % of respondents” who foresee a substantial worsening of their income expect the global situation to become increasingly uncertain in the coming years.
