German consumer confidence improves for sixth consecutive month, but loses momentum

MADRID, 29 Mar. (EUROPA PRESS) -

German consumer confidence has registered an improvement of 1.1 points for the month of April, according to the index prepared by GfK, which has stood at -29.5 points, compared to -30.6 in the previous month , which represents the sixth consecutive increase in the indicator, although it reflects a substantial weakening of the momentum of the recovery.

This new increase in consumer confidence can be attributed mainly to the positive development of income prospects, which have improved for the sixth consecutive time, raising the corresponding indicator to -24.3 in March from -27.3 in February, which it represents the best reading in ten months, although it is still a "markedly low" level compared to the historical series.

"Revenue expectations are currently benefiting from the recent notable drop in energy prices, especially for gas and heating oil," said GfK consumer expert Rolf Bürkl, who warned, however , that inflation will continue to be high in 2023, although somewhat lower than last year's 6.9%.

"Private consumption is unlikely to make a positive contribution to economic growth in Germany this year," warns Bürkl.

In this sense, the propensity to buy hardly benefits from the better income expectations in March and the corresponding indicator has barely risen by 0.3 points, to -17 points, well below the reading of -2 points in March 2022.

This stagnation shows the uncertainty that still prevails among consumers, who, on the one hand, have the positive factor of the stability of the labor market and, on the other hand, face a noticeable loss of purchasing power.

In contrast to the improvement in income expectations, German consumers' economic expectations worsened slightly in March, after four straight months of growth amid renewed doubts about whether Germany will manage to dodge the technical recession.

Thus, the indicator has fallen 2.3 points and now stands at 3.7 integers, although it is still above its long-term average, which is zero points.