The results of the Consumer Confidence Index for the next month were announced by GfK, a market research company headquartered in Germany, and the Nuremberg Institute for Market Decisions.
Accordingly, the Consumer Confidence Index, which was revised in January and measured as minus 29.6 for this month, increased by 0.6 points to minus 29 points in March. Thus, the index rose slightly in March after a serious decline of 4.2 in February.
Market expectations were for the index to rise to minus 29 points.
There is a tendency to save
The GfK report emphasized that Germans are still considering saving given the general economic situation, and that the recovery in the consumer environment remains quite moderate despite the sharp increase in income expectations.
Rolf Buerkl, an expert at the Nuremberg Institute for Market Decisions, said, “Consumers are very nervous. In addition to the continued rise in prices, weaker economic forecasts for the German economy this year may also be an important reason for this.”
Stating that the outlook for the German economy has recently become increasingly pessimistic, Buerkl said, “The German Federal Government has also reduced its growth forecast for 2024 from 1.3 percent to 0.2 percent. For now, Germany must continue to wait for economic recovery.”
In Germany, the barometer of consumers’ income expectations climbed to its highest level since February 2022, before the start of the Ukraine-Russia War, while the propensity to save reached 21.4 points, its highest level since June 2008.
Meanwhile, negative consumer confidence indicates a year-on-year decline in private consumption.
On the other hand, the German economy shrank by 0.3 percent last year, despite the slowdown in investments and the construction sector.
