HDE-Konsumbarometer: Die Wirtschaft macht Hoffnung, doch die Verbraucher bleiben im Krisenmodus
Die Konsumenten trauen den etwas besseren Konjunkturdaten nicht. Das zeigt eine aktuelle Studie des HRI. Auch die große Mehrheit der Einzelhändler bleibt deswegen pessimistisch.
The German economy shows early signs of stabilization, but consumer sentiment remains subdued. Despite rising hopes for an economic recovery, there are concerns about prices, energy, and jobs. This is according to the HDE-Konsumbarometer, which dropped by 0.59 points in August to 94.18 points. The sentiment is significantly worse than last summer when the index was three points higher.
The barometer is calculated monthly by the Handelsblatt Research Institute on behalf of the German Trade Association, based on a representative survey of around 1,600 households. The main reason for the current decline is the significantly increased savings tendency of the surveyed consumers compared to the previous month. This could be attributed to "fear savings": consumers are building up their reserves as uncertainty factors increase.
One concern is the upcoming heating period, which could become much more expensive due to rising prices for natural gas and heating oil. Additionally, there is growing worry among a large part of the population about job losses, as many companies plan layoffs or have already separated from employees.
Written by urgent.news from Handelsblatt's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
