Germany's consumer confidence is set to decline further to a new historic low in May, survey results from the market research group GfK showed on Wednesday.
The forward-looking consumer sentiment index declined more-than-expected to -26.5 in May from -15.7 in April. The expected score was -16.0.
High inflation dampened consumers' purchasing power. Consumers viewed that the risk for the German economy has increased further, and the danger of a recession is assessed as high.
"The Ukraine war and high inflation have dealt a serious blow to consumer sentiment," Rolf B?rkl, GfK consumer expert, said. This means that hopes of a recovery as a result of the easing of restrictions caused by the pandemic have finally been dashed.
Economic and income expectations as well as the propensity to buy logged noticeable losses in April, the survey showed.
The economic expectations index fell 7.5 points to -16.4 in April. Likewise, the income expectations indicator plunged 9.2 points to -31.3, the lowest score in almost twenty years.
The propensity to buy also suffered losses for the third time in a row. The indicator was down 8.5 points to -10.6 in April. This was the lowest value in more than 13 years.
