Germany GfK consumer confidence for December dropped to -1.6, down from 1.0, below expectation of -0.3. That’s also the lowest level in six months. For November, economic expectations dropped from 46.6 to 31.0. Income expectations dropped from 23.3 to 12.9. Propensity to buy dropped from 19.4 to 9.7.
“Consumer sentiment is currently being squeezed from two sides. On the one hand, the number of cases in the fourth wave of the coronavirus pandemic is exploding, which threatens to overwhelm the health system and could lead to further restrictions. On the other hand, the purchasing power of consumers is dwindling due to a high inflation rate of four percent” explains Rolf Bürkl, GfK consumer expert. “The outlook for the upcoming Christmas season is now somewhat bleak.”
