The consumer mood of the Germans has reached a record low due to weak economic expectations and rising energy costs. The index value for October determined in the consumer climate study in September fell by 5.7 points to minus 42.5 points, as the consumer researchers at GfK announced on Wednesday in Nuremberg.
“Many households are currently being forced to spend significantly more money on energy or set aside aside for significantly higher heating bills,” commented GfK consumer expert Rolf Bürkl on the results of the monthly survey of around 2,000 consumers. Therefore, savings are made on other expenses, such as new purchases. “This causes the consumer climate to fall to a new record low,” said Bürkl.
Consumers’ economic expectations also deteriorated again in September after a short breather in the previous month. The corresponding sub-indicator fell by 4.3 points to minus 21.9 points and, according to the GfK researchers, reached the lowest value since the severe financial and economic crisis in 2009.
As the survey shows, private households are “concerned about the explosive rise in energy costs”. Many consumers would also increasingly fear a recession in the German economy. (dpa)
