Germany's consumer sentiment is set to improve in January for the third straight month amid government measures to curb rising energy costs, survey results from the market research group GfK showed on Thursday.
The forward-looking consumer sentiment index rose to -37.8 in January from ?-40.1 in December. Economists had forecast a score of 38.0.
Thus, the consumer climate continues to improve cautiously, as more moderate energy prices than originally expected and the federal government's relief packages to curb energy costs are causing pessimism to recede.
"With the third increase in a row, the consumer climate is slowly working its way out of the low," said Rolf B?rkl, a GfK consumer expert, said. "The light at the end of the tunnel is getting a little brighter."
The consumer climate remains low despite the slight improvement. Therefore, the lack of consumption will remain a burden on economic development in Germany in the coming years, the GfK said.
