German consumer confidence is set to improve slightly in October halting its downward trend as income expectations strengthened, a closely watched survey data showed Thursday.
The forward-looking consumer confidence index rose to -22.3 in October from revised -23.5 in the previous month. The reading was seen at -23.3.
While income expectations improved in September, economic expectations and the propensity to buy continued to decline. Propensity to save provided no positive contribution.
After declining for three straight months, consumer confidence ended its downward trend, NIM Head of Consumer Climate Rolf Burkl said.
Whether the improvement in income expectations marks the beginning of a sustained turnaround is more than uncertain, said Burkl. “Consumer confidence remains at an extremely low level,” he added.
“The geopolitical situation, job concerns, and renewed inflation fears are likely to stand in the way of a sweeping recovery at the moment,” said Burkl.
The income expectations indicator rose to 15.1 from 4.1 in August. However, propensity to buy failed to benefit from the strong rise in income prospects. The propensity to buy index dropped by 1.5 points to -11.6, the lowest since June 2024.
Economic expectations among consumers continued its downward trend. The corresponding index posted an eight-month low score of -1.4, down from +2.7 in August.
German consumers do not expect a significant recovery in the German economy in the near future, GfK said.
The survey jointly published by NIQ/GfK and the Nuremberg Institute for Market Decisions was carried out between September 4 and 8.
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