BERLIN, Dec. 20 (Xinhua) -- German consumers remained in a "spending mood", according to a monthly consumer climate study published by market research institute GfK on Friday.
Economic as well as income expectations were declining and the consumer sentiment in January, based on around 2,000 interviews conducted on behalf of the European Commission, was forecast to slightly decrease by 0.1 to 9.6 points, according GfK.
"In an increasingly turbulent economic environment, propensity to buy has shown itself solid as a rock, right through to the end of 2019," said Rolf Buerkl, consumer expert at GfK. German consumers would not yet let anything "spoil their mood for purchases."
High consumption in Germany was also driven by low interest rates. Saving as an alternative to spending was currently not an attractive option in Germany, supported by the monetary policy of the European Central Bank, according to GfK.
"The threat of having to pay penalties on investments has resulted in propensity to save falling to an all-time low and has made saving less attractive," said Buerkl. "This is certainly good news for retailers at the end of the year."
After the "marked recovery" in the previous month, economic outlook in Germany suffered a setback again in December, GfK noted. The indicator currently stood at minus 4.4 points, slightly below its long-term average of zero points.
German consumers expected the German economy to "weaken significantly", according to GfK. This was also reflected in the growth forecasts for this and next year. The German economy was expected to grow by around 0.5 percent in 2019 and by just under one percent in 2020.
According to GfK, economic headwinds would begin to affect consumers' income expectations. The indicator dropped to its lowest level in more than six years. "While the mood regarding income is maintaining its high level, the excitement has passed," GfK noted.
Recent reports on staff cuts in some industrial sectors in Germany, such as the automotive industry and its suppliers, were also causing income optimism among Germans to fade, GfK noted.
