German consumer morale drops heading into September- GfK - NewsBreak

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By Bryan in Business
Updated 3 years ago

BERLIN, Aug 26 (Reuters) - The mood among German consumers darkened heading into September as accelerating inflation and rising COVID-19 cases made them more hesitant to buy, a survey showed on Thursday. The GfK institute said its consumer sentiment index, based on a survey of around 2,000 Germans, dropped to -1.2 points for September, from a revised -0.4 points a month earlier. The reading compared with a Reuters forecast for -0.7. "Prices have been rising rapidly since the middle of this year. This has a dampening effect on the consumer mood," GfK consumer expert Rolf Buerkl said in a statement. Germany's harmonised annual consumer prices rose 3.1% in July, hitting a 13-year high and fuelling a debate about whether the increase in the cost of living will persist. An increase in coronavirus infections and a slower pace of vaccinations have also hit consumers' expectations for the economy and affected their propensity to buy, Buerkl added. Germany reported 11,561 new coronavirus infect

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