German consumer confidence takes a knock in August, GfK says

The ongoing crisis in Greece has dampened consumer confidence in Germany, an industry poll revealed on Friday.

The closely-watched GfK consumer confidence index for September slid 0.2 points to 9.9, against expectations for an unchanged reading, as the optimism among consumers was hit by a minor set-back in August.

"The hitherto marked optimism among consumers has received a slight knock," GfK said in a statement.

"Despite the deal reached with Greece over its debt, the downward trend in economic expectations has intensified with the third consecutive monthly decline.”

As a result, consumers have been less optimistic about their income expectations, which, in turn, led to consumer being less inclined to spend and more eager to save.

However, despite the decline, the index remained at a high level, which suggested that private consumption will continue to be one of the main drivers of the Eurozone’s biggest economy.

"Despite the decline, however, it cannot be said that Germany's economic motor, consumption, has stalled or even choked off," GfK said.

"As it can be assumed that the conditions for domestic demand - including employment, income and inflation - will remain positive in the coming months, there are good chances that the consumer climate will stabilise again.”