German consumer sentiment slips to minus 30.8 as economic expectations turn positive
Germans remain gloomy about spending as income expectations and willingness to buy weaken. Even the fuel discount has brought no relief, NIM said.
Symbolic image · Photo: Dietmar Rabich / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped and resized)
German consumer sentiment deteriorated slightly again. The consumer climate index compiled by the Nuremberg Institute for Market Decisions (NIM) and GfK fell to minus 30.8 points for November from minus 30.6 the previous month. A year ago it stood at minus 22.5. The survey is based on around 2,000 consumer interviews conducted from Oct. 1 to 12.
Income expectations fell 0.7 points to minus 15.7. Willingness to make major purchases lost just over a point to minus 11.9. The propensity to save eased 4.3 points to 17.2. Inflation stood at 3.3% in September, its highest since December 2023.
Researchers saw one bright spot in economic expectations, which rose for a sixth straight month to 2.1 points, moving above zero for the first time since the start of the Iran war. "The hope for an economic upturn is there," NIM consumer expert Rolf Bürkl said. Willingness to spend more, however, has yet to follow, he added. The fuel discount also "apparently is not providing the hoped-for relief," the release said.