German Consumer Sentiment Rises Into September, Survey Finds

German consumer sentiment is set to increase going into September, with gains in economic and income expectations helping to counter households' persistent caution on spending, a survey found on Thursday.

The consumer sentiment index, published by the Nuremberg Institute for Market Decisions (NIM) and the GfK market research institute, rose unexpectedly month on month to -26.6 points.

That was up from a revised -29.4 a month earlier, while surpassing an average estimate of -29.6 in a Reuters analyst poll.

“Although the economic outlook in late summer is still more than six points below the corresponding level of the previous year, the fourth consecutive increase indicates a slight upward trend,” said Rolf Buerkl, head of consumer climate at NIM.

Positive Income Expectations

The overall index was driven by income expectations turning positive and by an improvement in expectations of the economy, although it remained at a low level amid persistent uncertainties.

An indicator reading above zero signals year-on-year growth in private consumption. A value below zero indicates a drop compared with the same period a year earlier.

According to NIM, a one-point change in the indicator corresponds to a year-on-year change of 0.1% in private consumption.

The "willingness to buy" indicator represents the balance between positive and negative responses to the question: "Do you think now is a good time to buy major items?"

The income expectations sub-index reflects expectations about the development of household finances in the coming 12 months.

The additional business cycle expectations index reflects respondents' assessment of the general economic situation over the next 12 months.