German Consumer Sentiment Set to Rise in August
July 27 2017 - 2:29AM
Dow Jones News
By Emese Bartha
FRANKFURT--German consumer confidence is set to continue
improving in August, reflecting Germans' positive view of the
economy and of their own finances, market researcher GfK's monthly
survey showed on Thursday.
GfK's said its forward-looking consumer sentiment index is set
to rise to 10.8 points in August from 10.6 points in July.
Economists in The Wall Street Journal's survey expected a 10.6
point reading.
"Consumers are expecting that the domestic economy can even pick
up a notch over the course of the remaining year," GfK said.
GfK uses three sub-indexes for the current month to derive a
sentiment figure for the next months.
The economic expectations sub-index rose to 44.6 points in July
from 41.3 points in June, representing the fifth advance in row,
hitting the highest level since July 2014, GfK said.
Germans' optimism is fanned by the strength of the labor market,
the expansive monetary policy of the European Central Bank, and by
modest oil prices, GfK said.
The income expectations sub-index increased to 60.9 points from
60.2 points, GfK said.
Consumers' propensity to buy, which shows their willingness to
spend on big-ticket items, decreased to 54.8 points in July from
57.9 points in June, GfK said.
Despite the positive signals for consumption in Germany, GfK
flags some potential risks ahead, such as the recently started
Brexit talks, the unclear trade policy of the U.S. government and
the worsening relationship between Germany and Turkey. These
issues, however, have not yet had a measurable impact on consumer
mood in Germany.
Write to Emese Bartha at emese.bartha@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
July 27, 2017 02:14 ET (06:14 GMT)
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