German consumer sentiment rises into September, survey finds

Aug 27 (Reuters) - German consumer ‌sentiment is set ​to ​increase going into September, with gains in economic and income expectations helping to counter households' persistent caution on ‌spending, a survey found on Thursday.

The consumer sentiment index, published ⁠by the Nuremberg Institute for Market Decisions (NIM) and the GfK market research institute, ‌rose unexpectedly month on month ‌to -26.6 points.

That was up from a revised -29.4 a month earlier, while surpassing an average estimate of -29.6 in a Reuters analyst poll.

“Although ​the economic outlook in late summer is still more than six points below the corresponding level of the previous year, the ⁠fourth consecutive increase indicates a slight upward trend,” said Rolf Buerkl, head of consumer climate ​at NIM.

The overall index was driven by income expectations turning positive and by an improvement in expectations of ​the economy, although it remained at a ‌low level amid persistent uncertainties.

Septembe August September

r 2026 2026 2025

Consumer climate -26.6 -29.4 -23.5

Consumer climate components August July August

2026 2026 2025

- economic expectations -3.9 -6.3 2.7

- income expectations 1.7 -14.5 4.1

- willingness to buy -9.8 -9.9 -10.1

- willingness ⁠to save 15.5 17.0 15.8

NOTE - The survey period was from July 30 to August 10, 2026.

An indicator reading above zero signals year-on-year growth in private consumption. A value ⁠below zero indicates a drop compared with the same period a year earlier.

According ​to NIM, a one-point change in the indicator corresponds to a year-on-year change of 0.1% in private consumption.

The "willingness to buy" indicator represents the balance between positive ‌and negative responses to the question: "Do you think now is a good time to buy major items?"

The ‌income expectations sub-index reflects expectations about the development of household finances ⁠in the coming 12 months.

The ‌additional business cycle expectations ​index reflects respondents' assessment of the general economic situation over the next 12 months.

(Reporting by Cian MuensterEditing by ‌Ludwig Burger)

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