Overview
- The NIM/GfK consumer survey, based on 2,000 interviews conducted from Sept. 3 to 14 and published in late September, found German saving propensity jumped to its strongest reading since 2008.
- Researchers and NIM expert Rolf Bürkl attribute the shift mainly to high energy prices and to falling income expectations, which reached their lowest level since April.
- Willingness to make larger purchases declined slightly in the survey, signaling weaker demand for big-ticket items and more cautious discretionary spending.
- The rise in saving is strongest among better-off households trying to protect real wealth after inflation eroded returns, even as overall economic expectations have edged up for a fifth month amid revised GDP forecasts of about 1.3 percent.
- If energy costs and household income outlooks do not improve, the defensive saving trend could dent near-term consumption and hit retailers and makers of durable goods as consumers delay or cancel purchases.