German consumer confidence hits lows and savings skyrocket, according to GfK

MADRID, 26 Ago. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The fear of a sharp increase in energy costs in the coming months has caused a further deterioration in the German consumer confidence indicator, prepared by GfK, which falls to a new historical low of -36.5 points for September from the -30.9 August.

Likewise, in anticipation of the higher cost of energy supply bills in the winter, German consumers have substantially increased their savings, which marks maximums since 2011, with a reading of the corresponding index of 3.5 points, compared to -14, 1 integers from the previous month.

"The sharp increase in the propensity to save this month means that consumer sentiment continues its sharp decline and has reached a new record low," explained Rolf Bürkl, consumer expert at GfK.

In this sense, Bürkl pointed out that "the fear of significantly higher energy costs in the coming months is forcing many households to take precautions and reserve money for future bills", which is further weakening consumer sentiment, since there are fewer financial resources available for other consumption.

In fact, he warned that the situation could get even worse in the coming weeks and months if the supply of fuel, in particular gas, is insufficient during the winter, which would cause a further increase in prices and heating bills. .

On the other hand, the evaluation of the economic situation by consumers has stabilized, after two consecutive falls, with an advance of 0.6 points of the indicator, down to -17.6 points, although the risk of a recession continues still high from the perspective of German consumers.

On their side, after earnings expectations hit a record low last month, they rose slightly in August, when the indicator gained 0.4 points and now stands at -45.3 points. Compared to August 2021, this is a decrease of almost 76 points.

As a consequence, the propensity to buy has fallen 1.2 points, to -15.7 integers, thus accumulating seven consecutive months in decline and registering its worst level since the financial and economic crisis of October 2008.

If households have to pay much more for energy and food, they lack the financial means for other purchases (...) In addition, in the context of significantly higher heating bills, several households are starting to accumulate reserves to be able to pay for them," explained those responsible for the study.