BERLIN, Aug. 28 (Xinhua) -- The recovery of consumer confidence in Germany was projected to come to a halt in September, according to the monthly consumer climate study published by German market research institute GfK on Friday.
After three monthly consecutive rises in a row, the indicator for consumer sentiment in Germany "suffered a considerable decline," GfK noted.
The GfK consumer sentiment for September fell to minus 1.8 points, around 1.6 points down from the previous month, according to the consumer climate index which is based on around 2,000 consumer interviews per month conducted on behalf of the European Commission.
"An increase in the number of infections and the fear that coronavirus-related restrictions will be further tightened are creating uncertainty and consequently dampening the mood" in Germany, said Rolf Buerkl, consumer expert at GfK.
The rising propensity to save was a "signal of the growing uncertainty" among German consumers who were increasingly unsure about their expected income, GfK noted.
The reduction in value-added tax (VAT) in the second half of the year, "may be boosting propensity to consume but has not yet been able to provide a stronger stimulus," explained Buerkl. Enditem
