Germany: Consumer confidence expected to dip in September
Consumer confidence is expected to dip to minus 1.8 in September from minus 0.2 in August, which had marked the highest level since April.
The projected decline in the headline reading came on the back of mixed backward-looking data for August, which is released at the same time and underpins the September estimate. Economic expectations edged higher in August on the back of the vast fiscal stimulus measures enacted by government—which have recently been extended. In addition, consumers’ propensity to buy ticked up. However, income expectations suffered notably.
Rolf Bürkl, consumer expert at GfK, commented:
“An increase in the number of infections and the fear that coronavirus-related restrictions will be further tightened are creating uncertainty and consequently dampening the mood. […] Whether or not this is just a temporary slowdown will depend primarily on what infection rates look like in future and the necessary measures to be put in place by policy makers.”