Germany GfK consumer confidence for February was unchanged at 10.8. GfK noted that “mood of consumers paints a mixed picture. Income expectations remain stable. But propensity to buy lost ground again. Economic expectations continued their “steep downward spiral”. Economic expectation dropped -6.5 pts to 4.2. That’s the fifth decline in a row and the lowest reading since March 2016. Gfk said “Consumers feel that the risk of the German economy slipping into recession again has tangibly increased in recent weeks”. A technical recession was only “narrowly avoided” last year, with 0% growth in Q4.
And, “external factors are primarily responsible for the lack of momentum in the German economy.”. Gfk cited trade dispute between Europe, China and US is “causing growing uncertainty among consumers”. And, they ” worry that Germany, as a strongly export-oriented economy, would suffer negative consequences if this dispute led to trade barriers such as rising customs tariffs.” How and when Brexit will take place is far from certain and “This makes planning more difficult for companies on all sides.
