German consumer morale looks set to slump heading into April as the war in Ukraine pushed households' economic and income expectations to new record lows since the 2009 financial crisis, a survey showed today.
The GfK institute said its consumer sentiment index, based on a survey of around 2,000 Germans, tumbled to -15.5 points heading into April from a revised -8.5 points a month earlier, the lowest since February 2021.
Analysts polled by Reuters had on average expected the index to drop to -14.
"In February, hopes were still high that consumer sentiment would recover with the easing of pandemic-related restrictions. However, the war in Ukraine caused these hopes to vanish into thin air," GfK consumer expert Rolf Buerkl said in a statement.
Energy prices have suffered the most from rising uncertainty and sanctions against Russia, Buerkl said.
He adding that the longer-term recovery of German consumer morale would only be possible in case of a rapid ceasefire followed by peace negotiations.
"Domestic economy would then significantly contribute to overall economic development again as a result of declining uncertainty, and the easing of pandemic-related restrictions would also be able to have its positive effect," he said.
The survey took place from March 3 to March 14, after Russian President Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine on February 24 and started the largest war in Europe since World War Two.
