German consumer sentiment recovers heading into June, survey finds
Overview of German Consumer Sentiment Recovery
By Maria Martinez
BERLIN, May 22 (Reuters) - German consumer sentiment recovered heading into June, as households' income expectations improved, a survey found on Friday.
Survey Results and Key Findings
The consumer sentiment index, published by the Nuremberg Institute for Market Decisions (NIM) and the GfK market research institute, showed sentiment rising to -29.8 points for June from a revised -33.1 points in May.
Expert Commentary
“Consumer Climate has, at least for the moment, ended its downward trend and is recovering somewhat this month,” said Rolf Buerkl, head of consumer climate at NIM.
Income and Spending Trends
Income expectations, which had deteriorated significantly at the start of the Iran war, are noticeably more positive than in April, with the indicator at -13.0 points, up from -24.4 points.
Despite a slight increase, the willingness to buy remains subdued and the willingness to save is once again decreasing slightly, but remains very high.
Ongoing Geopolitical Impact
"The negative impact of the conflict in the Middle East remains largely unchanged and is still visible in the consumer climate," Buerkl said.
Consumer Sentiment Index Data
Monthly Index Overview
JUN 2026 MAY 2026 JUN 2025
Consumer climate -29.8 -33.1 -20.0
Component Breakdown
Consumer climate components MAY 2026 APR 2026 MAY 2025
- economic expectations -11.2 -13.7 13.1
- income expectations -13.0 -24.4 10.4
- willingness to buy -13.2 -14.4 -6.4
- willingness to save 13.9 16.1 10.0
Survey Methodology and Indicator Explanations
• The survey period was April 30 to May 11, 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 GfK, 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 economic expectations index reflects respondents' assessment of the general economic situation over the next 12 months.
Reporting and Editing
(Reporting by Maria Martinez, editing by Kirsti Knolle, Kirsten Donovan)
