Germany: Consumer sentiment expected to inch up again in February
The GfK consumer climate index is forecast to rise further to minus 33.9 in February from minus 37.6 in January.
The expected uptick in sentiment follows backward-looking data for January, which is released simultaneously and underpins the February expectation.
Looking at the January data, consumers became less pessimistic about the economy and their personal finances in the year ahead. This is likely connected with the governments decision to pay gas bills for all households in December and to cap gas and electricity prices this year. Less positively, consumers became slightly more pessimistic about their future spending intentions.