Germany: Economic Indicators: 2012
Consumer confidence improves despite unresolved Eurozone crisis
Confidence among German consumers remains strong, defying the turmoil in the Eurozone. The forward-looking GfK consumer sentiment index for February rose to 5.9 points, above the revised 5.7 points observed for January (initially reported: 5.6 points). The reading beat market expectations that predicted the index would remain unchanged from the initial January reading of 5.6 points.
While the overall consumer confidence indicator refers to February, the GfK Institute also publishes three sub-indicators (economic expectations, income expectations and buying propensity), which refer to January.
According to the Institute, “economic expectations and willingness to buy both increased markedly and income expectations remained stable at a high level.” The improvement in consumer confidence bodes well for private consumption at the outset of this year.
Forecasts: This indicator is covered in the FocusEconomics Consensus Forecast. For 5-year projections, including quarterly forecasts for the next two years, please visit our Online Store.
