Germans shake hands

For the first time in eight months, the atmosphere in German consumers has deteriorated. The consumer index, according to the consumer think tank, GfK has reached this conclusion after a 2000 survey of people surveyed.

The consumption atmosphere is unexpected for analysts. The current development of the consumer situation signals, that consumers are highly uncertain”, says economist Rolf Bürk. According to experts, the following are the expensive continuation of products in Germany. In May, inflation, according to the Federal Statistics Office reached 6.2%, after 7.4% in April. By February of this year, inflation was more than 8%, against last year.

Fear of Spending

But even fears of the economy in stagnation or decline seem to have made German consumers uncertain. The main economic institutions in Germany have confirmed that Germany's economic capacity will decline this year. The Ifo Institute estimates by a minus 0.4%. This has an effect on consumers, who have a lower expectations about their income. German families this year expect real income losses due to high inflation. The result: falling desire for consumption. This seems among other things to increase the desire for savings”, says Bürk.

Experts do not expect rapid improvement of the situation. Private consumption, according to GfK, will fall and will no longer serve as a boost to the economy. Positably for the future is seen the downward trend of inflation, experts say, the consequences in this case will not be as serious in the economy, despite the loss of purchasing power. / DW