- GfK research institute
Confidence among German consumers fell slightly going into December amid concerns over the Eurozone crisis and global growth. The GfK research institute said Monday said its index of consumer climate fell to 5.9, down from 6.1 in the preceding month whose figure was revised down from 6.3. The research also showed that German consumers are ready to make purchases, but their expectations for future earnings declined in November. However, strong domestic demand should help Europe's largest economy avert recession and it is expected to grow by 1% in the year.
"The extremely low interest rate and (the general) uncertainty regarding the European debt crisis are not optimum prerequisites for saving," said GfK economist Rolf Buerkl, who is responsible for the survey. "Instead, consumers are preferring to make expensive purchases, rather than hand their money over to the banks."
"Although the signals from the economy are not very encouraging for now, the dangers of recession in the view of Germans are not increasing," GfK said in its statement.
"People are not afraid of losing their jobs and so are more willing to make bigger, more expensive purchases," GfK said.
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