German consumer sentiment almost returned to pre-crisis level in September

According to the GfK Consumer Sentiment Study, consumer confidence in Germany increases again in September. Both economic and income expectations are increasing, along with propensity to buy. Consequently, GfK is forecasting a value of 0.3 points in consumer sentiment for October, up 1.4 points from September of this year (revised from -1.1 points). Economists had expected a decrease to -1.6 points.

The current rise in income prospects and propensity to consume, as well as a decreasing propensity to save, are contributing to the recovery of consumer sentiment in Germany. As a result, consumer sentiment is higher than it has been for the last year and a half. A higher value was last measured in April 2020, at 2.3 points.

After two months with losses that were in some cases noticeable, the consumer sentiment picked up again in September. with the indicator economic expectations rising by 7.7 points to a total of 48.5 points. This actually represents an increase of currently 24 points compared to the same period of the previous year.

The growing consumer optimism signals that consumers here consider the German economy on course for recovery, although the momentum is somewhat more moderate than expected a few months ago. A stable labor market also contributes significantly to the high level of economic expectations.