International News

FRANKFURT, (APP/AFP) – There was little sign
of Brexit uncertainty in a monthly survey of German consumers on Friday, with the public’s mood almost unchanged in August compared with July.
Market research company GfK’s headline consumer sentiment index fell
slightly to 10.0 points in August, after a 10.1-point reading in July.
The score was slightly higher than expected by analysts surveyed by
Factset, who had forecast a larger fall to 9.9 points.
Sentiment “developed positively overall, and apparently digested the Brexit shock well,” the pollsters wrote in a statement.
Consumers’ expectations for the whole economy were lower than in July.
GfK said the fall in that sub-index could partially be due to three violent attacks in Bavaria — two of them claimed by jihadist group Islamic State — that “could have caused slightly increased uncertainty.”
But the respondents’ expectations about their own income leapt upwards, rising to 58.3 points in August compared with July’s 49.7.
There was a smaller rise in consumers’ readiness to spend money.