German Consumers Pessimistic About Future

The mood among German consumers dropped to a historic low in November on account of the German economy’s precarious financial situation, according to the Gfk market research institute. The Gfk estimates that consumers in Germany now judge their incomes as pessimistically as they did last did nine years ago in 1993, shortly after the recession. The economic outlook indicator, which measures how consumers forecast economic development in Germany, slipped to -24.5 points from -7.4 points in October. The Gfk announced that the prospects for Christmas business didn’t look good and that the consumer climate would worsen in December and also in the next year. Rolf Bürkl, head researcher at Gfk said that constant discussions about pensions, jobs and taxes had unnerved consumers.