Financial News: German Consumer Sentiment To Slide Amid Iran Conflict

German Consumer Sentiment To Slide Amid Iran Conflict

03/26/2026 - 03:41:00 (RTTNews)

(RTTNews) - German consumer sentiment is set to deteriorate in April due to economic concerns over the war in Iran, survey results published jointly by NIQ/GfK and the Nuremberg Institute for Market Decisions showed Thursday.

The forward-looking consumer sentiment index fell to -28.0 in April from -24.8 in the previous month. The score was forecast to fall moderately to -27.3.

Although no significant effects were visible in terms of the willingness to buy or save in March, income expectations dampened notably because of inflation fears.

Income expectations turned negative in March due to the significant downturn in economic expectations and rising energy prices. The income expectations index fell 12.6 points to -6.3.

At the same time, the economic expectations index dropped 11.2 points to -6.9 in March, the lowest since December 2022.

GfK said many consumers were clearly concerned that the modest recovery of the German economy could suffer a serious setback, particularly if the conflict were to last for a long time.

At -10.9, the willingness to buy was largely unaffected in March. The willingness to save, which reached a new high since 2008 in February, stabilized at a high level of 18.5.

"Whilst the willingness to buy and the willingness to save are currently showing little reaction to the geopolitical events in Iran, consumers expect inflation to rise again due to higher energy prices, and the economic recovery to be slowed once more," NIM Head of Consumer Climate Rolf Bürkl said.

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