Germany: Second Covid-19 wave to hit consumer sentiment hard in December
Consumer confidence is expected to dive to minus 6.7 in December from minus 3.2 in November as the second wave of coronavirus and the reintroduction of restrictive measures will hit sentiment. Moreover, the expected value for December is the lowest since July.
The projected drop in the headline reading reflected pessimistic economic expectations and worsening views on income expectations and willingness to buy in November—backward looking data for November was released at the same time and underpins the December sentiment. Views on the economic climate turned pessimistic for the first time since May, due to a renewed lockdown straining consumers’ hopes of an ongoing recovery.
Rolf Bürkl, consumer expert at GfK, added:
“Any hope we still had in early summer of a rapid recovery is now lost. Growing uncertainty has once again led to an increase in propensity to save, another factor which has contributed to the decline in the consumer climate.”