German consumer confidence set to improve - GfK

German consumer confidence looked set to improved in December, according to a survey released by market research group GfK on Tuesday.

GfK’s forward-looking consumer sentiment index was expected to tick up to 9.7 next month from 9.6 in November. Economists had forecast an unchanged reading.

Rolf Bürkl, consumer expert at GfK, said: "The exceptionally high levels of consumer confidence among German consumers have significantly contributed to preventing a recession in Germany in the third quarter. Private consumption has thereby perfectly fulfilled its role as an important pillar of the economy.

"Consumers are therefore optimistic about the upcoming holiday season, one of the busiest times of year for a number of retail industries such as consumer electronics and toys. How the year as a whole will be evaluated is determined during this period. And the retail sector can certainly look forward to this period with a healthy dose of optimism."

Claus Vistesen, chief eurozone economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said: "A welcome increase, though nothing that changes the overall falling trend in the headline index since the beginning of the year.

"The details- reported for November- however, were more upbeat. The overall expectations gauge jumped, to 1.7 from -13.8 in October, rising above zero the first time since June, a positive move echoed by a strong increase too in the income expectations index.

"By contrast, the willingness-to-buy index dipped slightly, as did inflation expectations. These data have been soft overall recently, but they have still been signalling a recovery in consumption growth, which arrived in Q3 with consumers’ spending growth accelerating to 1.8% year-over-year."