The rebound in German consumer confidence has stalled, with consumers wary of what lies ahead, a survey showed on Tuesday.
The GfK research group said its consumer confidence index will remain unchanged at a relatively high 5.9 in April compared to March.
It said its survey of about 2,000 households in Germany, carried out just before the euro crisis flared anew in Cyprus, had found consumers remained generally upbeat about the economy.
“While economic expectations were slightly higher, income expectations and willingness to make big purchases were slightly down,” the Nuremberg-based company said.
It attributed those expectations to the “economic fundamentals, rising incomes and moderate prices” in Germany.
Business people in Germany are less optimistic. The Munich-based Ifo economic institute said last week that its closely watched index measuring the mood in German boardrooms had slumped to 106.7 this month, from a February reading of 107.4.
By contrast, consumers’ confidence about the economic outlook has risen above the long-term average for the first time since June last year, according to the GfK.
“They evidently perceive the German economy as being in a robust state at the present time,” GfK said, noting that Germans seemed unfazed by a political deadlock in Italy, recession in other parts of the Eurozone and a resurgence in the euro debt crisis.
“Current events involving Cyprus could harm consumer confidence,” it warned. But plans under discussion since last week to put levies on big bank deposits in Cyprus are only likely to have their impact on the next GfK index, to be issued in late April.