The mood among German consumers darkened heading into September as accelerating inflation and rising Covid-19 cases made them more hesitant to buy, a survey showed last week.
The GfK institute said its consumer sentiment index, based on a survey of around 2,000 Germans, dropped to -1.2 points for September, from a revised -0.4 points a month earlier. The reading compared with a Reuters forecast for -0.7.
"Prices have been rising rapidly since the middle of this year. This has a dampening effect on the consumer mood," GfK consumer expert Rolf Buerkl said in a statement.
Germany's harmonised annual consumer prices rose 3.1 per cent in July, hitting a 13-year high and fuelling a debate about whether the increase in the cost of living will persist. An increase in coronavirus infections and a slower pace of vaccinations have also hit consumers' expectations for the economy and affected their propensity to buy, Buerkl added. - Reuters
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